[act-ma] Energy (and Other) Events - February 15, 2015

George Mokray gmoke at world.std.com
Sun Feb 15 11:27:27 PST 2015


Energy (and Other) Events is a weekly mailing list published most Sundays covering events around the Cambridge, MA and greater Boston area that catch the editor's eye.

Hubevents  http://hubevents.blogspot.com <http://hubevents.blogspot.com/> is the web version.

If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to Energy (and Other) Events email gmoke at world.std.com <mailto:gmoke at world.std.com>

What I Do and Why I Do It:  The Story of Energy (and Other) Events
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-do-and-why-i-do-it.html <http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-do-and-why-i-do-it.html>

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Monday, February 16
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6pm  Power to the Pedals: Wenzday Jane and the Culture of Change

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Tuesday, February 17
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12pm  Reporting on Ferguson and Subsequent Developments
12pm  #StopEbola: What Nigeria did right
4pm  Why Can't We Be Friends? Academe, Corporate Universities & Educational Partnerships
4pm  Made in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka: The Labor Behind the Global Garments and Textiles Industries
4pm  From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks: The Life and Times of Harry Bridges
4:30pm  Iran and the United States: Eternal Enemies or Natural Partners?
6pm  Whale Conservation and the Future of the Oceans
6pm  A Secret Weapon for Entrepreneurs: Boston’s Established CEOs
6pm  Boston New Technology February 2015 Product Showcase #BNT50
6pm  Stories from Startups: Ignite Talks on Food and Ag
6:30pm  Urban Resilience and Natural Hazards in Asia: Film Screening and Panel Discussion
6:30pm  Mario Schjetnan, "Landscape: An Evolution of Practice and Theory"
7pm  CafeSci Boston:  “Studying Genomic Origami"

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Wednesday, February 18
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7:30am  February Boston Sustainability Breakfast
9am  Boston Urban Ag Visioning Steering Committee & Public Meeting
9am  Boston Urban Ag Visioning Steering Committee & Public Meeting
12pm  Advanced Technology Development at MIT Lincoln Laboratory: Focus on Microsystems
12pm  By Sea, Sand & River: Medieval and Early Modern Art and Architectural Cross Currencies Between Africa and Europe
12:30pm  The struggle for human rights as struggle against racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia
12:30pm  Critical Issues Confronting China Seminar Series: Where is Assertive China Headed?
3:45pm  The Surprisingly Dynamic Snowball Ocean
4pm  Special Seminar: "Data-Driven Control of Flexible, Continuum Robots within the Human Body"
5:30pm  What should India do to Accelerate Economic Growth?
5:30pm  Askwith Forum on girls in STEM education
6pm  The Art of Scientific Storytelling
6:30pm  What Art Can Tell Us About The Brain

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Thursday, February 19
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8am  Tufts Innovation Symposium 2015
11:45am  Emotional and Financial Impatience: A Behavioral-Economics and Affective Science Approach
12pm  Rescheduled: The Political Crisis in Yemen
12:15pm  After El Chapo: Leadership Decapitation and Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations
12:15pm  The Climate of War: Violence, Warfare and Climatic Reductionism
1:30pm  Folklore and Flaherty: A Symposium on the First Irish-Language Film
3:15pm  The Shifting Sands of the Middle East: From Arab Spring to Arab Chaos
4pm  Regulatory Barriers to Decarbonizing China's Power Sector
4pm  A Day in the Life of the Ocean's Microbiome: The Transcriptomic Motion Picture
4pm  Water and Air Interactions of Shale Gas and Oil Extraction
4pm  Collaborative Web Search: Towards Next-Generation Information-Seeking Experiences
4pm  The Ecomechanics of Insect Flight: Hunting dragonflies and foraging bees in a complex, unpredictable world
4pm  Around the World with the MIT Waste Alliance
4pm  Translating Social and Emotional Learning
4pm  Labor, Racism, and Justice in the 21st Century, with Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr.
4:30pm  Starr Forum: Demystifying ISIS
4:30pm  Modeling Malaria's Spread
6pm  Gordon R. Willey Lecture: The Origins of Maya Civilization: New Insights from Ceibal 
6pm  Boston Talks: Fitness 2.0
6:30pm  Religious Encounters with Evolution: Place, Politics, Polemics
6:30pm  Design Techniques II
6:30pm  UNITE on Data Visualization
7pm  American Reckoning:  The Vietnam War and Our National Identity
7:30pm  Sniffing the Air of Alien Earths

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Friday, February 20
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8am  Africa on the Global Stage
8am  Destination Europe
10:30am  Wyss Lecture: From Bench to Bedside: The Long Walk for Robotic Exoskeletons
12pm  Collision! Where Art & Science Meet
12:15pm  Science in Its Place
1pm  Let’s Talk About Foams
3pm  Data Centers, Energy, and Online Optimization

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Saturday, February 21
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8am  MIT Infinite Labs 2015 Tech Conference
8:30am  Global Urban Datafest: Smart Cities Challenge - Boston
9am  I ♥ Science 
9am  Tufts Energy Conference 2015

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Sunday, February 22
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2pm  Budget for All: Briefing on Federal Budget Crisis
5pm  Soil Carbon Cowboys: Grazing for Biodiversity

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Monday, February 23
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12pm MASS Seminar
12pm  How to Open-source the Creative Process: Democratizing Innovation, Product Design and Development, and Technology Strategy
12pm  EPA's Clean Power Plan: What Should States Be Sure Not To Do? 
12:15pm  The Ascent of Science Fictional Futurity in Anglo-American Legal Thought
2pm  Why we have solar panels but not (yet) fusion power
4pm  The Water, Forest, and Land Belong to Us': Collective Action and Property in an Indian Forest
5pm  Play, Videogames and Education Reform
5:30pm  Askwith Forum:  Smarter Charters?
6pm  Community Potluck and Dessert Cafe
6pm  AB Forum with Moshe Safdie: Design for a small planet
7:30pm  The Age of Empathy: Building a Cooperative Society

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Tuesday, February 24
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10am  Envisioning Our Energy Future
12:30pm  Workshopping Ideas: Presentations from the Digital Problem-Solving Initiative (DPSI) Teams
12:30pm  The Rails Race: Japan and China in Global Infrastructure Politics
4pm  "It's Better To Jump" film screening and Q&A with filmmaker, Patrick Stewart
5pm  Brazil Beyond the Future
6pm  Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War
6pm  Boston Green Drinks - February Happy Hour
6:30pm  How "Plankton Blooms" Absorb CO2
7pm  In Manchuria:  A Village Called Wasteland and the Transformation of Rural China
7pm  Evolution Matters Lecture Series: The Revolution in Plant Evolution
7pm  Intel® Edison™ Workshop

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My rough notes on some of the events I go to and notes on books I’ve read are at:
http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com <http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/>

http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2015/02/creating-renewables-micro-utiliies.html <http://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2015/02/creating-renewables-micro-utiliies.html>


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Monday, February 16
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Power to the Pedals: Wenzday Jane and the Culture of Change
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 16, 2015, 6 – 8 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room 2012, 1585 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Business, Environmental Sciences, Film, Law
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic & Transactional Law Clinics, of Harvard Law School
DIRECTED BY  Bob Nesson
COST  Free and open to the public
DETAILS  Power to the Pedals: Wenzday Jane and the Culture of Change, a film by Bob Nesson, portrays the transformative vision and extraordinary efforts of a woman whose mechanical skills and innovative actions are reshaping her community. Wenzday Jane heads a movement to replace trucks with human powered vehicles for local cargo transportation. She goes to the heart of the sustainability issue by offering practical solutions.

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Tuesday, February 17
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Reporting on Ferguson and Subsequent Developments
Tuesday, February 17
12 P.M.
Harvard, Taubman 275, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge

Wesley Lowery is a reporter for the Washington Post, where he joined from the Boston Globe. Wesley received widespread national attention due to his reporting on the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, both through traditional reports and his innovative use of real-time social media updates. He will discuss his experience of the events in Ferguson, the subsequent developments and national conversation, and his career as a reporter.

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#StopEbola: What Nigeria did right
Tuesday, February 17
12:00 PM
Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge 
RSVP required for those attending in person via https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/9571#RSVP <https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/9571#RSVP>
Event will be webcast live on https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/9571 <https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/9571> at 12:00 pm.

with Berkman Affiliate, Aimee Corrigan 
On July 20, 2014 the Ebola outbreak landed in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. Public health officials warned that an outbreak could be catastrophic in Lagos, a densely populated city of 21 million. 19 confirmed cases left 11 dead from the disease, but Nigeria’s nightmare scenario never occurred. Within three months, the World Health Organization declared Nigeria Ebola-free, deeming the nation's efforts to contain the disease a "spectacular success story”.

In a country with 130 million mobile-phone users and active social networks, social media and mobile technology played a central role in Nigeria’s Ebola containment. SMS platforms were used to share information on the signs and symptoms of the virus. Ebola Alert, a technology organization formed by group of volunteer doctors, used Facebook and Twitter to increase awareness through 24/7 updates and online Ebola chats. Social media campaigns deployed Nollywood stars to sensitize audiences, manage fear and myths, and reduce stigma. Contract tracers were equipped GPS technology on mobile devices to ensure accountability and accuracy during interviews and monitoring. Health workers were provided with mobile phones and an Android app that allowed for immediate and critical information sharing. Each of these strategies led to fast communication, better self-reporting and identification of Ebola contacts, successful tracking and monitoring - all essential components of an outbreak response that Nigeria got right in record time. What can we learn from Nigeria? And how can these strategies be utilized in public health challenges in Africa and beyond?

This discussion will included video interviews with Nigerian doctors, health workers, social media campaigners and Ebola survivors from an upcoming documentary on this subject.

About Aimee
Aimee Corrigan is the Co-Director of Nollywood Workshops, a hub for filmmakers in Lagos, Nigeria that supports and delivers movie production and distribution, training, and research. She is also a documentary photographer and filmmaker. Aimee's passion for Nollywood sparked during her participation in the production of the documentary This Is Nollywood.

Aimee completed her Masters in Education at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.

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Why Can't We Be Friends? Academe, Corporate Universities & Educational Partnerships
Tuesday, February 17
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 4-270

Speaker: Jenny Stine
Corporate universities, centralized learning and development organizations in medium and large corporations, are providing sophisticated education on a massive scale. While they might seem like natural partners to universities looking to engage with industry, the commoditization of content coupled with outdated partnership and program delivery models in universities has worked against productive relationships. Based on the results of a recent research study, this talk explores key challenges in university-corporate educational relationships and highlights opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

xTalks: Digital Discourses 
This series provides a forum to facilitate awareness, deep understanding and transference of educational innovations at MIT and elsewhere. We hope to foster a community of educators, researchers, and technologists engaged in developing and supporting effective learning experiences through online learning environments and other digital technologies.

Web site: http://odl.mit.edu/events/jenny-stine/ <http://odl.mit.edu/events/jenny-stine/>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): OEIT- Office of Educational Innovation and Technology, Office of Digital Learning
For more information, contact:  Molly Ruggles
617-324-9185
ruggles at mit.edu <mailto:ruggles at mit.edu> 

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Made in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka: The Labor Behind the Global Garments and Textiles Industries
WHEN  Tue., Feb. 17, 2015, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, CGIS South, S250, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	South Asia Institute
SPEAKER(S)  Sanchita Saxena, director of the Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies, Berkeley and executive director, Institute for South Asia Studies, UC Berkeley
Fauzia Ahmed, assistant professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies, Miami University; SAI Research Affiliate
John A. Quelch, Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School and professor in Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	sainit at fas.harvard.edu <mailto:sainit at fas.harvard.edu>
LINK	http://southasiainstitute.harvard.edu/event/made-in-bangladesh-cambodia-and-sri-lanka-the-labor-behind-the-global-garments-and-textiles-industries/ <http://southasiainstitute.harvard.edu/event/made-in-bangladesh-cambodia-and-sri-lanka-the-labor-behind-the-global-garments-and-textiles-industries/>

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From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks: The Life and Times of Harry Bridges
WHEN  Tue., Feb. 17, 2015, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall, Harvard Law School, 1515 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Theater
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School
SPEAKER(S)  Ian Ruskin, actor
TICKET INFO  Free and open to the public
DETAILS  Actor Ian Ruskin performs his dramatic play about the life and times of labor organizer Harry Bridges

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Iran and the United States: Eternal Enemies or Natural Partners?
Tuesday, February 17
4:30-6:00pm
MIT, Building E51-376, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
								
Stephen Kinzer, Author and former New York Times correspondent
Stephen Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has covered more than 50 countries on five continents. His articles and books have led the
Washington Post to place him "among the best in popular foreign policy storytelling."
 
Kinzer's previous book was Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America's Future. "Stephen Kinzer is a journalist of a certain cheeky fearlessness and exquisite timing," The Huffington Post said in its review. "This book is a bold exercise in reimagining the United States' big links in the Middle East."
 
This program is co-sponsored with the Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar and the Center for International Studies. 
For more information, contact:  Heidi Erickson
617 252-1888
hae at mit.edu <mailto:hae at mit.edu>

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Whale Conservation and the Future of the Oceans
Tuesday, February 17
6:00 PM
Harvard, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Joe Roman, Sarah and Daniel Hrdy Fellow in Conservation Biology, Harvard University; Fellow at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Vermont
Whales have long been valued as a source of oil and whalebone. Treated as a commodity throughout history, they are increasingly recognized for their complex forms of communication, even culture, and the ecological role they play in the ocean. Joe Roman will discuss the history and future of whales in the world’s oceans, drawing from historical archives, DNA analyses, ecological studies of whale carcasses in the deep sea, and the effects of whale fecal plumes on ocean productivity. He will explain why conserving great whales is essential for the welfare of marine ecosystems.

Lecture and Book Signing. Free and open to the public.

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A Secret Weapon for Entrepreneurs: Boston’s Established CEOs
Tuesday, February 17
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM (EST)
MIT, Building E51, Wong Auditorium, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-secret-weapon-for-entrepreneurs-bostons-established-ceos-tickets-15469709317 <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-secret-weapon-for-entrepreneurs-bostons-established-ceos-tickets-15469709317>

Business leaders in Massachusetts are itching to give back, to help startups in order to promote a vibrant innovation ecosystem. But how do entrepreneurs engage with these established CEOs?

MIT startup Accion Systems, out of AeroAstro and the MIT Global Founders’ Skills Accelerator, got key support from former Raytheon chairman and CEO Bill Swanson, who was able to offer deep knowledge and contacts in the industry Accion was targeting.
Join Bill Swanson and Accion co-founder Natalya Brikner PhD ’14 (AeroAstro) as they discuss their lessons learned in managing this relationship, and how to effectively integrate the ready and willing secret weapon of Massachusetts, the CEOs of existing companies, to help you realize your startup dreams. Martin Trust Center managing director Bill Aulet will moderate the discussion and Q&A.
Reception following event. 
 
Bill Swanson joined Raytheon in 1972 and held a wide range of leadership positions, including manufacturing manager of the company’s largest operation, senior vice president and general manager of Raytheon Electronic Systems, president of Electronic Systems, chairman and chief executive officer of Raytheon Systems Company, and president of Raytheon. He graduated magna cum laude from California Polytechnic State University with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and did graduate work in business administration at Golden Gate University, and has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pepperdine and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Cal Poly.
Natalya Brikner is the CEO and co-founder of Accion Systems, Natalya has worked on one form of propulsion or another for over 10 years, as a program manager of a $1.5MM propulsion program, a systems engineer during her time at Aurora Flight Sciences, and a founder of a previous space propulsion company. She is completing a PhD in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT, and has an MS in mechanical engineering from Duke and a BS in aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering from San Diego State University.
Bill Aulet is the managing director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship as well as a senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Prior to joining MIT, he had a 25-year track record of success in business, from his start at IBM to his experience as a serial entrepreneur. He started and ran Cambridge Decision Dynamics and SensAble Technologies. He works around the world with entrepreneurs, small companies, large companies, and governments to promote innovation-driven entrepreneurship. He has an SM from MIT Sloan and a bachelor’s in engineering from Harvard.

Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship

This event is sponsored by Mass Competitive Partnership (MACP), Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, and MIT Innovation Initiative.

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Boston New Technology February 2015 Product Showcase #BNT50
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
6:00 PM
Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston_New_Technology/events/220404698/ <http://www.meetup.com/Boston_New_Technology/events/220404698/>

You must show a government issued, photo ID and sign in at the security desk in the lobby. Take an elevator to the 11th floor.
Celebrate our 50th Boston New Technology Product Showcase!

Free event! Come learn about 7 innovative and exciting technology products and network with the Boston/Cambridge startup community!  Each presenter gets 5 minutes for product demonstration and 5 minutes for Q&A.  Please follow @BostonNewTech and use the #BNT50 hashtag in social media posts: details here.

Products & Presenters:
1.  CareerVillage.org <http://careervillage.org/> / @careervillage - Crowdsourcing career advice for America's youth. Gates funded + school approved! (Jared Chung / @jaredchung) Tech: The important bits: Python/Django, Postgres, Redis, AWS, LinkedIn API, Facebook API, Freebase API, Mandrill. careervillage.org <http://careervillage.org/>
2.  Voxel8's 3D Electronics Printer / @voxel_8 - A 3D printer that co-prints two materials including proprietary conductive ink (Daniel Oliver/Owen McCarthy / @owenzmccarthy) www.voxel8.co <http://www.voxel8.co/>
3.  HoppinIn / @HoppinIn - Do you want to be the first to know “What’s HoppinIn’.”? (Heath Dill) hoppinin.com <http://hoppinin.com/>
4.  Synctuary / @conceptblossom - Your files, Your privacy. 
Never give your password or encryption keys to anyone! (Edward Ned Harvey) Tech: C#, Microsoft .NET, Mono, Xamarin. www.conceptblossom.com <http://www.conceptblossom.com/>
5.  KeynectUP / @keynectUP - The fastest way to connect with people and stay connected. (Douglas Chrystall / @dchrystall) Tech: Java, Mongo, Progress & Websockets.   www.keynectup.com <http://www.keynectup.com/>
6.  Zwayo On-Demand Valet / @zwayoparking - We park for you, so you don't have to. (Obinna J. Ukwuani / @oukwuani) Tech: iOS, Objective C, PHP www.zwayo.co <http://www.zwayo.co/>
7.  DoorDash Boston / @doordash_boston - Delightful delivery (Jessica Lachs)   doordash.com <http://doordash.com/>

Agenda: 
6:00 to 7:00 - Networking with dinner and drinks
7:00 to 7:10 - Announcements
7:10 to 8:30 - Presentations, Q&A
8:30 to 9:00 - More Networking

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Stories from Startups: Ignite Talks on Food and Ag
Tuesday, February 17
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EST)
MIT, Buildling E62-250, 100 Main Street, Cambridge

Local food and agriculture startups will  "enlighten us, but make it quick". Using the popular Ignite format, these Food+Ag businesses will have 5 minutes and 20 slides to tell us about themselves, their business, their journey, and their mission. Food and networking will follow the presentations.

Investment Projects from Different Points of View
Tuesday, February 10
6:30-7:30
MIT Building E19-319, 400 Main Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17if3kW2te7TURjFoiWEITgTFOraNdj5Fgwaz3HjWbJs/viewform <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17if3kW2te7TURjFoiWEITgTFOraNdj5Fgwaz3HjWbJs/viewform>
(meeting postponed from February 10)

In the context of energy poverty, the session  provides a framework for evaluating investment projects from alternative points of view (sponsor, society, stakeholders, the less well-off) and technical lens (financial, economic, distributive, fiscal, risk).

Bio: Carlos de la Torre is a former revenue advisor with the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, India. He has led and participated in over 60 advisory assignments supporting central and state government reform initiatives in the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University in Washington, DC and has attended specialized training programs in public administration at École Nationale d'Administration, France, and public finance at Harvard University. At MIT, he focuses on regional economic development, expenditure program evaluation and organizational change.

Food will be served so please RSVP!

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“Urban Resilience and Natural Hazards in Asia: Film Screening and Panel Discussion”
Tuesday, February 17
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Harvard Kennedy School, Land Hall, Fourth Floor, Belfer Building, (Located at the corner of JFK and Eliot Streets) 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

As the effects of climate change intensify and rapid urbanization continues across many parts of Asia, the region faces increased vulnerability to a range of natural hazards. This event features four short films that highlight innovative strategies for building disaster resilience in several major cities (Bangkok, Da Nang, Phnom Penh, and Surat), followed by a panel discussion featuring academics and practitioners with expertise in disaster risk reduction and urban planning and policy. The films were produced by the online magazine Next City as part of the series “Asia H20: How Water Issues are Changing an Urbanized Continent,” which was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Co-sponsored by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Program on Crisis Leadership, and the Crisis Management Student Group, Harvard Kennedy School; MDes Risk and Resilience, Harvard University Graduate School of Design; Harvard University Center for the Environment; and Next City.

Contact david_giles at hks.harvard.edu <mailto:david_giles at hks.harvard.edu> with questions about the event.

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Mario Schjetnan, "Landscape: An Evolution of Practice and Theory"
WHEN  Tue., Feb. 17, 2015, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Art/Design, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Harvard University Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S)  Mario Schjetnan
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	events at gsd.harvard.edu <mailto:events at gsd.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  In 37 years of practice with Grupo de Diseño Urbano (Mexico City), Mario Schjetnan has overseen award-winning projects in architecture, urban design, and landscape. Among his most recognized works are the Parque Tezozomoc in Mexico City, the El Cedazo Park in Aguascalientes, and Parque Ecológico Xochimilco, for which the firm was awarded Harvard GSD’s Veronica Rudge Green Prize in 1996.
LINK	www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events/mario-schjetnan-landscape-an-evolution-of-practice-and-theory.html <http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events/mario-schjetnan-landscape-an-evolution-of-practice-and-theory.html>

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CafeSci Boston:  “Studying Genomic Origami"
Tuesday, February 17
7:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
Le Laboratoire Cambridge, 650 East Kendall Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/cafesci-boston-february-2015-tickets-15667951264

with Miriam Huntley
How is it that every cell inside our body has the exact same DNA, and yet an eye cell performs a very different function from a blood cell?

It turns out that different cells fold up their DNA in different ways, much in the same way an origami artist will fold up the same piece of paper in different ways in order to create different shapes. I'll talk about some of our recent work done in the Aiden Lab which sheds light on the exciting mystery of how the genome folds.

Miriam Huntley is a doctoral student at Harvard University's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

CafeSci Boston  https://www.facebook.com/groups/388970764555159/

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Wednesday, February 18
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February Boston Sustainability Breakfast
Wednesday, February 18
7:30 AM to 8:30 AM (EST)
Pret A Manger, 185 Franklin Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/february-boston-sustainability-breakfast-tickets-15436825962

Join us for the February Boston Sustainability breakfast, an informal breakfast meetup of sustainability professionals together for networking, discussion and moral support.  It’s important to remind ourselves that we are not the only ones out there in the business world trying to do good!
So come, get a cup of coffee or a bagel, support a sustainable business and get fired up before work so we can continue trying to change the world.

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Boston Urban Ag Visioning Steering Committee & Public Meeting
Wednesday, February 18
9:00 AM to 9:45 AM (EST)
The Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-urban-ag-visioning-steering-committee-public-meeting-tickets-15667363506

The next meeting of the Boston Urban Ag Visioning Steering Committee will be held at The Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center on Wednesday February 18, 2015. This meeting is open free to the public, but RSVP is requested by 2/17/2015. Please note specific timing and meeting location below.

Agenda
8:00 - 9:00 am (Steering Committee only)
9:00 - 9:45 am (Public presentation and engagement in the Ampitheater)

Background
In December 2013, the City of Boston passed Article 89, a new addition to the city’s zoning code that allows for urban agriculture. Since this time, the support for urban agriculture in the city has been tremendous, but there has been limited collaboration between the multitude of public, private, and non-profit sectors on how to create a vision for its future in Boston. 

In support of a Boston Urban Ag Visioning process, the City of Boston has received a $25,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP). The goal of this process will be to bring diverse organizations to the table to create a vision for Boston around food production and distribution, which will enable farmer livelihoods, provide multiple access points for food, and determine how to create food access for low-income constituents. Representatives from all aspects of urban growing in the city will be engaged, including community gardeners, traditional farmers, gleaners, edible forest developers, farmers’ market reps, traditional and rooftop farmers, as well as food production folks.

Holly Fowler of Northbound Ventures will facilitate and a Steering Committee has been selected to guide and to inform the process. The Steering Committee will meet the third Wednesday of each month from January to August 2015. All meetings are open to the public. The location of each meeting will vary. The existence of this group will allow every area of urban growing in Boston to have a role in determining this vision, and to collaborate as one entity to achieve this goal.

More information at https://bostonurbanag.wordpress.com

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Advanced Technology Development at MIT Lincoln Laboratory: Focus on Microsystems
Wednesday, February 18
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 34-401, 50 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Bernadette Johnson, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
MIT Lincoln Laboratory is a Federally funded research and development center, run by MIT for the Department of Defense. Expanding beyond its origins as a radar laboratory, current advanced technology development at the Lab encompasses optical systems, data analytics and algorithm development, advanced signal processing, biomedical research, and microsystems fabrication, to name a few areas. This presentation will offer a brief overview of technology development at Lincoln, with particular emphases on how we interact with university collaborators to apply advances in emerging research areas to problems of national interest.

MTL Seminar Series 
Light lunch at 11:30am

Web site: http://www.mtl.mit.edu/seminars/spring2015.html <http://www.mtl.mit.edu/seminars/spring2015.html>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Microsystems Technology Laboratories
For more information, contact:  Valerie DiNardo
617 253-9328
valeried at mit.edu <mailto:valeried at mit.edu>

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By Sea, Sand & River: Medieval and Early Modern Art and Architectural Cross Currencies Between Africa and Europe
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 18, 2015, 12 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Art/Design, Humanities, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Hutchins Center for African and African American Research
SPEAKER(S)  Suzanne Blier, Allen Whitehill Clowes Chair of Fine Arts and of African and African American Studies, Department of History of Art & Architecture, Harvard University
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	hutchevents at fas.harvard.edu <mailto:hutchevents at fas.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  A Q+A will follow the talk.
LINK	hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu <http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>

---------------------------------

The struggle for human rights as struggle against racism, antisemitism, and xenophobia
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 18, 2015, 12:30 – 1:20 p.m.
WHERE  651 Huntington Avenue, 7th Floor, Room 710, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	FXB Center for Health and Human Rights
SPEAKER(S)  Irmtrud Wojak, 2014-15 Frieda L. Miller Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
COST  Free and open to the public

--------------------------------------

Critical Issues Confronting China Seminar Series: Where is Assertive China Headed?
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 18, 2015, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, S020, Japan Friends of Harvard Concourse, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Humanities, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Harvard Asia Center and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
SPEAKER(S)  Douglas H. Paal, vice president for studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, D.C; former vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase International
LINK	http://asiaevents.harvard.edu/event/critical-issues-confronting-china-seminar-series-douglas-paal-carnegie <http://asiaevents.harvard.edu/event/critical-issues-confronting-china-seminar-series-douglas-paal-carnegie>

------------------------------------

The Surprisingly Dynamic Snowball Ocean 
Wednesday, February 18
3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
MIT, Building 54-915, Green Building Lecture Room (the tallest building on campus)

Eli Tziperman, Professor of Oceanography and Applied Physics, Harvard University
The hypothesized complete freezing of the Earth during the Snowball Earth events of the Neoproterozoic Era (1,000 to 542 Myr) poses several interesting problems related to ocean and ice dynamics, testing our understanding of ocean dynamics in an unusual dynamical regime.  An ocean covered by thick ice and driven only by a very weak geothermal heat flux (0.1 watts/m^2) is shown to be surprisingly dynamic, characterized by strong zonal jets, an energetic turbulent eddy field and a dramatic meridional overturning circulation limited to very close to the equator.  We discuss the dynamics of the mean zonal jets and meridional circulations, the Lorenz energy cycle and the relevant eddy-generating instability mechanisms.  Figuring out the snowball ocean circulation also requires solving for ice flow and ice thickness on a sphere, and we discuss the relevant dynamics and resulting insights.

A reception in Building 54, Room 923 precedes the talk. 

All are welcome.

If you have any questions regarding the lecture, please contact Jen Fentress at 617.253.2127 or jfen at mit.edu <mailto:jfen at mit.edu>. Reservations not required.

Sponsored by the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, MIT.

-----------------------------

Special Seminar: "Data-Driven Control of Flexible, Continuum Robots within the Human Body"
Wednesday, February 18
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building 1-390, 33 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Speaker: Michael Yip
Surgical robotics are no longer science fiction: robotic arms, snakes, catheters, and needles have led the way in advances that have made it possible for clinicians to provide new methods of treatment for diseases such as prostate cancer, hip and knee replacements, and heart disease. This??talk??will focus on how we can build and effectively control flexible robotics catheters within the human body to enable new methods of treating heart arrhythmia, with the potential to transform these previously tedious and frustratingly difficult treatments into an easy and enjoyable experience for any novice clinician to perform.

Web site: https://imes.mit.edu/about/events/special-seminar-michael-yip <https://imes.mit.edu/about/events/special-seminar-michael-yip>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): IMES
For more information, contact:  IMES
617-324-2386
kshaner at mit.edu <mailto:kshaner at mit.edu> 

------------------------------

What should India do to Accelerate Economic Growth?
Wednesday, February 18
5:30p–6:30p
MIT, Building  E51-335, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: S.P. Kothari, Deputy Dean of Sloan School
MIT-India is excited to present a talk from S.P. Kothari, Deputy Dean and Gordon Y. Billard Professor of Accounting and Finance at the Sloan School of Management. Dean Kothari has served as the global head of equity research for Barclays Global and as the head of the Department of Economics, Finance, and Accounting at the Sloan School. Currently, Dean Kothari is the Faculty Director of MIT-India. 

The talk will be moderated by moderated by Sanjay Sarma, Dean of Digital Learning at MIT and the Fred Fort Flowers and Daniel Fort Flowers Professor of Mechanical Engineering. 

An India 2.0 event. 

Hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Web site: https://misti.mit.edu/what-should-india-do-accelerate-economic-growth <https://misti.mit.edu/what-should-india-do-accelerate-economic-growth>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MIT India Program
For more information, contact:  Melanie Mala Ghosh
(617) 258 5917
mghosh at mit.edu <mailto:mghosh at mit.edu> 

----------------------------

Askwith Forum on girls in STEM education
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 18, 2015, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Longfellow Hall, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge
TYPE OF EVENT	Discussion, Diversity & Equity, Forum, Lecture, Question & Answer Session
PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT  Alumni, AskWith Forum
BUILDING/ROOM  Askwith Hall
CONTACT NAME  Roger Falcon
CONTACT EMAIL  askwith_forums at gse.harvard.edu <mailto:askwith_forums at gse.harvard.edu>
CONTACT PHONE  617-384-9968
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION/DEPARTMENT	Harvard Graduate School of Education
REGISTRATION REQUIRED  No
ADMISSION FEE	This event is free and open to the public.
RSVP REQUIRED	No
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Education
DETAILS  Speakers include:
Maria Klawe, President, Harvey Mudd College
Stephanie Wilson, Astronaut, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Moderator: Karen Brennan, Assistant Professor of Education, HGSE

---------------------------------

The Art of Scientific Storytelling
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 18, 2015, 6 – 8 p.m.
WHERE  Observatorio Cervantes at Harvard University, 2 Arrow Street, 4th floor, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Science, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Organized by Instituto Cervantes at Harvard, program sponsored by Santander Universities, a division of Santander Bank.
In collaboration with ECUSA
SPEAKER(S)  Rafael Luna, the author of The Art of Scientific Storytelling, and the CEO of Luna Scientific Storytelling LLC.
COST  Free; RSVP is suggested
TICKET WEB LINK  ecusabostonfeb2015.eventbrite.com <http://ecusabostonfeb2015.eventbrite.com/>
CONTACT INFO	info-observatory at fas.harvard.edu <mailto:info-observatory at fas.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  Please, RSVP: ecusabostonfeb2015.eventbrite.com <http://ecusabostonfeb2015.eventbrite.com/>
LINK	ecusabostonfeb2015.eventbrite.com <http://ecusabostonfeb2015.eventbrite.com/>

----------------------------

What Art Can Tell Us About The Brain
Wednesday, February 18
6:30 – 8PM
Mass College of Art and Design, 621 Huntington Avenue, Tower Auditorium, Boston

Dr. Margaret Livingstone is a Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School with a keen interest in the ways in which vision science can understand and inform the world of visual art.

She is the author of the groundbreaking book, "Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing," which demonstrates how the cellular structure of our eyes and brain determines how we see and process artworks. 

Contact Name	Chloe Zaug
Contact Email	chloe.zaug at massart.edu
Contact Phone	617.879.7337
Link	http://www.massart.edu/Galleries/Visiting_Artists/Margaret_Livingstone.html

-----------------------------
Thursday, February 19
-----------------------------

Tufts Innovation Symposium 2015
Thursday, February 19
8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (EST)
Tufts University, 51 Winthrop Street, Medford
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/tufts-innovation-symposium-2015-tickets-14053505413

The Tufts InnovationSymposium, sponsored by the Fletcher School’s International Business Club is excited to present this year's conference, Customer in Context, on February 19, 2015. The conference will approach innovation through the customer perspective and propose methods, raise questions, and offer insights about designing products and programs with your customer in mind.

Come and be inspired by some fantastic speakers from the Archimedes project, Frog design group, Dalberg Design Impact Group, Boston Bikes and New Balance Hubway Bikeshare, and let Patrick and Doug Coughran, Co-Founders of Foxtrot Systems fuel the entrepreneur in you.

Make sure you don’t miss this exciting opportunity to take a deep dive into the innovation ecosystem!

The Fletcher School's International Business Club

--------------------------------

Emotional and Financial Impatience: A Behavioral-Economics and Affective Science Approach
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Kennedy School, Bell Hall, 5th Floor Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Science, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government (M-RCBG) at the Harvard Kennedy School.
SPEAKER(S)  Jennifer Lerner, professor of Public Policy and Management, Harvard Kennedy School and co-founder of the Harvard Decision Science Laboratory.
CONTACT INFO	Lunch will be served. Please RSVP to mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu <mailto:mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu>

---------------------------------

Rescheduled: The Political Crisis in Yemen
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Nye Conference Room A, Taubman Building, Fifth Floor, 15 Eliot Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	The Middle East Initiative
SPEAKER(S)  Steven C. Caton, Khaled bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al Saud Professor of Contemporary Arab Studies, Harvard University
Ross Porter, visiting research fellow, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University
COST  Free and open to the public
LINK	http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6562/rescheduled.html <http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6562/rescheduled.html>

----------------------------------

After El Chapo: Leadership Decapitation and Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 12:15 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center Library, Littauer-369, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	International Security Program
SPEAKER(S)  Evelyn Krache Morris, research fellow, International Security Program
CONTACT INFO	susan_lynch at harvard.edu <mailto:susan_lynch at harvard.edu>
LINK	http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6559/after_el_chapo.html <http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6559/after_el_chapo.html>

----------------------------

The Climate of War: Violence, Warfare and Climatic Reductionism
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 12:15 – 2:15 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Braun Room, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Religion, Social Sciences
SPONSOR	Science, Religion, and Culture program
CONTACT	Science, Religion, and Culture program
DETAILS  Please join us for a lunch discussion with Professor David Livingstone on "The Climate of War: Violence, Warfare, and Climatic Reductionism.

-------------------------------

Folklore and Flaherty: A Symposium on the First Irish-Language Film
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 1:30 – 4 p.m.
WHERE  HFA, 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Conferences, Film
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures, the Harvard Film Archive, Houghton Library, and the Provostial Fund for Arts and Humanities
COST  Free Admission
TICKET INFO  http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2015janfeb/symposium.html <http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2015janfeb/symposium.html>
DETAILS  In celebration of the rediscovery and preservation of Robert Flaherty's short film Oidhche Sheanchais (A Night of Storytelling), the first Irish-language "talkie," the symposium participants will discuss the film within the larger context of Irish folklore and its storytelling and song traditions. Screenings of the film will precede and follow the papers and discussion.
Symposium participants
Kate Chadbourne, PhD from Harvard Celtic Department 1999; singer and poet; teacher of Irish and Irish folklore and mythology in Harvard Extension and Harvard Summer School; author of "The Knife Against the Wave: Fairies, Fishermen, and the Sea," Béaloideas 80 (2012), 70–85.
Maureen Foley, filmmaker-director, producer and writer of Home Before Dark (1997) and American Wake (2004); great-granddaughter of Máirtín Ó Conghaile, an Aran Island storyteller whose stories were collected in the 1890s and published as Scéalta Mháirtín Neile in 1994; manager of special projects, Office of the Dean of Arts and Humanities at Harvard.
Barbara Hillers, lecturer in Irish folklore, University College Dublin; PhD from Harvard Celtic Department 1997; associate of the Celtic Department (and spotter of OS in HOLLIS).
Catherine McKenna, Margaret Brooks Robinson Professor and Chair, Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University.
Deirdre Ní Chongaile, expert in Aran Island song traditions; National University of Ireland, Galway PhD; award-winning blogger on Aran Island songs.
Natasha Sumner, PhD candidate in Celtic languages and literatures at Harvard (expected 2015); transcriber and translator of the soundtrack of Oidhche Sheanchais.
Reception follows at Houghton Library
LINK	http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2015janfeb/symposium.html <http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2015janfeb/symposium.html>

----------------------------

The Shifting Sands of the Middle East: From Arab Spring to Arab Chaos
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 3:15 – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE	Harvard, The Colloquium Room, HILR, 34 Concord Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement
SPEAKER(S)  Amine Jaoui, fellow, Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	For more information call HILR at 617-495-4072
DETAILS  Amine Jaoui, fellow at Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, researches emerging regional diplomatic and economic dynamics of the Middle East after the Arab Spring. He has served most recently as a strategy and policy advisor in the Office of the Prime Minister of the UAE and advised multiple Middle East governments on economic, social, and education reforms. He was educated in France, the United Kingdom and the United States, and holds degrees from HEC (Paris), Sciences Po (Paris), Sorbonne University, the London School of Economics, and Harvard University.
LINK	http://hilr.dce.harvard.edu/news-and-events/shifting-sands-middle-east-politics <http://hilr.dce.harvard.edu/news-and-events/shifting-sands-middle-east-politics>

---------------------------

Regulatory Barriers to Decarbonizing China's Power Sector
Thursday, February 19
4:00PM
Harvard, Pierce Hall 100F, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge

with Michael DAVIDSON, Ph.D. Candidate, Engineering Systems Division, MIT

China Project Seminar
http://chinaproject.harvard.edu/event/Davidson150219 <http://chinaproject.harvard.edu/event/Davidson150219>

Contact Name:   Chris Nielsen
nielsen2 at fas.harvard.edu <mailto:nielsen2 at fas.harvard.edu>
More information at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2015-02-19-210000/china-project-seminar#sthash.7QsCPgzJ.dpuf

-----------------------------------

A Day in the Life of the Ocean's Microbiome: The Transcriptomic Motion Picture
Thursday, February 19
4:00 PM EST
MIT, Building 32-141, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker Name:  Ed DeLong 

--------------------------------

Water and Air Interactions of Shale Gas and Oil Extraction
Thursday, February 19
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 48-316, 15 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Professor Rob Jackson, Stanford University

Environmental Sciences Seminar Series 
Join us for a weekly series of EFM/Hydrology topics by MIT faculty and students, as well as guest lecturers from around the globe. 

Web site: https://sites.google.com/site/parsonsseminars/home <https://sites.google.com/site/parsonsseminars/home>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering
For more information, contact:  Brenda E. Pepe
617 258-5554
pepebe at mit.edu <mailto:pepebe at mit.edu> 

-------------------------------

Collaborative Web Search: Towards Next-Generation Information-Seeking Experiences
Thursday, February 19
4:00pm to 5:00pm
Harvard, Maxwell Dworkin G115, 33 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Meredith Morris, Microsoft Research and University of Washington
In this talk, I will give an overview of my research on developing and evaluating novel collaboration technologies in diverse areas of computing such as information retrieval, gesture interaction, accessibility, and education. The talk will particularly focus on collaborative web search -- today, web search is largely a solitary experience, with web browsers and search engine sites typically designed to support a single user, working alone. Collaborative tools can result in improved information-seeking outcomes, such as increasing searchers' coverage of the relevant information space, reducing unnecessary redundant work across searchers, and exposing searchers to new search strategies and syntax. In this talk, I will discuss the challenges associated with supporting collaborative information seeking and present several prototype systems that address these challenges. I will conclude with discussing directions for future research with respect to collaborative search as well as for collaborative technologies more broadly.

Speaker Bio:   Meredith Ringel Morris is a Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research. She is also an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering and in the Information School at the University of Washington. Dr. Morris’s research area is human-computer interaction, with a particular emphasis on computer-supported cooperative work and social computing. She co-authored the book Collaborative Web Search: Who, What, Where, When, and Why?(Morgan & Claypool, 2010). The Technology Review recognized her work on collaborative information seeking by naming her one of 2008’s “35 innovators under 35.” Dr. Morris earned a Ph.D. and M.S. in computer science from Stanford University, and an Sc.B. in computer science from Brown University. More information, including her full list of publications, can be found on her website, http://research.microsoft.com/~merrie <http://research.microsoft.com/~merrie>.

Computer Science Colloquium Series

Contact: Gioia Sweetland
Phone: 617-495-2919
Email: gioia at seas.harvard.edu <mailto:gioia at seas.harvard.edu>

--------------------------------

 "The Ecomechanics of Insect Flight: Hunting dragonflies and foraging bees in a complex, unpredictable world."
Thursday, February 19
4p.    
Harvard, Biolabs Building, Main Lecture Hall, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge

Stacey Combes

-----------------------------

Around the World with the MIT Waste Alliance
Thursday, February 19
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building 3-333, 33 Massachusetts Ave (Rear), Cambridge
RSVP: http://goo.gl/forms/bZHKHUiNR3 <http://goo.gl/forms/bZHKHUiNR3> 

Over IAP, many MIT students participated in waste management projects. 
Join us to hear these short tales and lessons from around the world presented by students. 
International flavored cuisine will be served. 
We're still open to speakers (5-10 min talks) if you have a project to share! Email trashiscash at mit.edu <mailto:trashiscash at mit.edu>

Web site: http://goo.gl/forms/bZHKHUiNR3 <http://goo.gl/forms/bZHKHUiNR3>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Waste Alliance, Sustainability at MIT, Graduate Student Council
For more information, contact:  Kevin Kung
trashiscash at mit.edu <mailto:trashiscash at mit.edu> 

-----------------------------

Translating Social and Emotional Learning
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Graduate School of Education, Gutman Conference Center, Area 1
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Classes/Workshops, Education
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Harvard Graduate School of Education, Brain Basics Organization
SPEAKER(S)  Stephanie Jones, Ph.D. - Marie and Max Kargman Associate Professor in Human Development and Urban Education Advancement
Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann, co-president / chief learning and science officer of CAST
Margaret Sheridan, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School / Boston Children's Hospital
DIRECTED BY  Moderated by: Richard Weissbourd, senior lecturer on education
COST  Free and Open to the Public
TICKET WEB LINK  docs.google.com <http://docs.google.com/>…
TICKET INFO  RSVP's appreciated, but not required
DETAILS  How do social and emotional factors impact learning and classroom experiences? Join Brain Basics for a conversation featuring three Harvard Graduate School of Education faculty discussing their perspectives on creating and implementing interventions, as well as bridging the gap between research and practice.
LINK	http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=hgse_brain_basics&pageid=icb.page542007 <http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=hgse_brain_basics&pageid=icb.page542007>

--------------------------------

Labor, Racism, and Justice in the 21st Century, with Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr.
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Law School, Ames Court, Austin Hall, 1515 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Law, Lecture, Religion
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School; Jerry Wurf Memorial Forum
SPEAKER(S)  Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr., pastor emeritus, Holman United Methodist Church, Los Angeles
CONTACT INFO	john_trumpbour at harvard.edu <mailto:john_trumpbour at harvard.edu>
DETAILS  Reverend James Lawson, who worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, delivers the 2015 Jerry Wurf Memorial Lecture at Harvard.

------------------------------

Starr Forum: Demystifying ISIS
Thursday, February 19
4:30p–6:00p
MIt, Building 66-110, 25 Ames Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Juan Cole, Richard Nielsen
A discussion with with Juan Cole and Richard Nielsen 

About the Speakers: 
Juan Cole is a public intellectual, prominent blogger and essayist, and the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. 
Richard Nielsen is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at MIT. His current work uses statistical text analysis and fieldwork in Cairo mosques to understand the radicalization of jihadi clerics in the Arab world. 

Juan Cole's book "The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East" will sold at the event.

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies
For more information, contact:  starrforum at mit.edu <mailto:starrforum at mit.edu> 

-------------------------------

Modeling Malaria's Spread
Thursday, February 19
4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
MIT, Building E19-623, Knight Conference Room, 400 Main Street, Cambridge

Caroline Buckee, Associate Director, CCDD, Harvard School of Public Health

---------------------------------

Gordon R. Willey Lecture: The Origins of Maya Civilization: New Insights from Ceibal 
Thursday, February 19
6:00 pm
Harvard, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Takeshi Inomata, PhD, professor and Agnese Nelms Haury Chair, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona
Daniela Triadan, PhD, associate professor, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona
In the 1960s, Gordon Willey and a team of Harvard archaeologists led the investigation of Ceibal, a Maya site in Guatemala. Their research revealed that Ceibal was a very early settlement, one that predated the cities constructed in the heyday of Maya civilization. Recent excavations in Ceibal, directed by Takeshi Inomata and Daniela Triadan, have produced exciting new findings, including the discovery of what is considered the earliest ceremonial complex in the Maya lowlands, dating to 950 BCE. Inomata and Triadan discuss the new discoveries and what they reveal about the origins of Maya culture and society. 

Co-presented by the Museum of Science, Boston and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology 

-------------------------------

Boston Talks: Fitness 2.0
Thursday, February 19
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
WGBH, 1 Guest Street, Boston
RSVP http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-talks-fitness-20-tickets-15574822714 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-talks-fitness-20-tickets-15574822714>

A Smarter Happy Hour
You’re invited to kick off WGBH’s new series, BostonTalks—our take on happy hour. Grab your friends and join us in our Yawkey Atrium for inspiring conversation plus wine and local craft brews for $5 a glass.   

Fitness 2.0
Our focus will be fitness, and WGBH’s Edgar B. Herwick III will lead a conversation about the latest trends. We’ll talk technology with Boston Magazine Health Editor Melissa Malamut, fitness fashion with New Balance’sSenior Production Manager of Performance Apparel Jeff Garabedian, and the social side of working out with Co-Founder and President of Social Boston Sports Justin Obey. Come by and join the conversation!  
 
Meet the Host
Edgar runs WGBH News’s Curiosity Desk, where he aims to dig a little deeper (and sometimes askew) into topics in the news, looking for answers to questions posed by the world around us. His radio features can be heard on 89.7 WGBH's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and he also is a regular guest with Jim Braude and Margery Eagan on Boston Public Radio.
 
More About the Series 
BostonTalks is throwing the formal panel discussion out the window. Each event combines short speaking programs, drinks, and a chance for you to join the conversation. Think happy hour, but smarter.

--------------------------------

Religious Encounters with Evolution: Place, Politics, Polemics
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Sperry Room, Andover Hall, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Environmental Sciences, Humanities, Lecture, Religion, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Science, Religion, and Culture Program at Harvard Divinity School
SPEAKER(S)  Professor David N. Livingstone
CONTACT INFO	srcp at hds.harvard.edu <mailto:srcp at hds.harvard.edu>
LINK	http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/srcp/event/feb-19-religious-encounters-evolution-place-politics-polemics <http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/srcp/event/feb-19-religious-encounters-evolution-place-politics-polemics>

--------------------------------

"Design Techniques II" with Momoyo Kaijima, Tom Emerson, Kersten Geers, Florian Idenburg, Mariana Ibañez, and Antoine Picon
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 19, 2015, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Piper Auditorium, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Art/Design, Lecture, Special Events
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Harvard University Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S)  Tom Emerson, Kersten Geers, Florian Idenburg, Momoyo Kaijima, Enrique Walker, Mariana Ibañez, Antoine Picon
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	events at gsd.harvard.edu <mailto:events at gsd.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  In a discipline reformulating the role of the architect, the question of technique has acquired a new priority. Techniques move with unexpected fluidity, circulating between individuals and collectives, calling the influence of each into question. This symposium, the second event of the series "All that is solid...", interrogates the collectivity, authorship, effects, and deployment of contemporary design techniques.
LINK	www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events/symposium-on-architecture-design-techniques-ii-with-momoyo.html <http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events/symposium-on-architecture-design-techniques-ii-with-momoyo.html>

-------------------------------

UNITE on Data Visualization
Thursday, February 19
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EST)
General Assembly , 51 Melcher Street, Boston
RSVP http://www.eventbrite.com/e/unite-on-data-visualization-tickets-15439414705 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/unite-on-data-visualization-tickets-15439414705>
Cost:  $0 - $10

This season’s UNITE event will bring various Boston-based communities together to focus our ideas and thoughts on Data Visualization. This event will feature a panel discussion of experts actively working with visual data, which will be moderated by Kristian Kloeckl, Associate Professor at the Art + Design and School of Architecture at Northeastern University. The panelists include:
Nigel Jacobs, Urban Technologist and Co-Founder of New Urban Mechanics
Angela Bassa, Data Science Manager at EnerNOC
Michael Ledoux, Associate Creative Director, Sapient Nitro

Join us to share ideas with 100+ design fans and engage in educational and inspirational discussion with educators, scientists, data analysts, and more! The event will be hosted by our new neighbors General Assembly, and as always indulge in free drinks provided by Harpoon Brewery and free snacks! Free for Design Museum Boston members and $10 for non-members. Limited space, reserve your tickets today!

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American Reckoning:  The Vietnam War and Our National Identity
Thursday, February 19, 2015
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Christian G. Appy, author

-------------------------------

Sniffing the Air of Alien Earths
Thursday, February 19, 2015
7:30 pm 
Harvard, Phillips Auditorium, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge

Sarah Rugheimer
Are we alone in the universe? We've found hundreds of planets orbiting distant stars, including several dozen in their star's habitable zone. But do any of them host life? To find out, we'll need to look for telltale molecules like oxygen or methane. The next generation of telescopes may answer this question when they take their first "sniffs" of alien air. Sarah Rugheimer is a 2014 Harvard Horizon Scholar and member of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative.

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Free and open to the public
Contact pubaffairs at cfa.harvard.edu <mailto:pubaffairs at cfa.harvard.edu>, 617.495.7461

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Friday, February 20
-------------------------

Africa on the Global Stage
Friday, February 20
8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (EST)
Tufts, The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Avenue, Medford
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/africa-on-the-global-stage-tickets-15411434014 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/africa-on-the-global-stage-tickets-15411434014>

The Fletcher Africana Club is pleased to present the second annual Africana Conference, Africa on the Global Stage on Friday February 20th, 2015 at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Medford, MA.The conference will include panels on Technology and Innovation, Governance, Conflict and Peacebuilding, and Trade and Investment in the region with keynote speeches from Amina Alum Ali, the permanent representative of the African Union to the United States and Antoinette Sayeh, the Director of the African Department at the IMF. 

The Fletcher Africana Conference is an annual gathering of students, professionals, policymakers and academia at The Fletcher School, Tufts University in Boston (USA). It is organized by the Fletcher Africana Club, a group of graduate students from Africa and/or with a keen interest and work experience in the African continent. We aim to provide a forum that creates contextual understanding of African issues through debate and discussion. This is possible only if we examine questions of socioeconomic and political significance through the multiple lenses of development, business, politics, security, and science and technology. Therefore, the Africana Club strives to engage thought leaders from different sections of society and bring them together in ways that create an understanding of the various forces at play.

In March 2014, we organized the inaugural conference called Africa Beyond the Headlines, which focused on intertwining issues in security and development on the continent. In October 2012, The Fletcher School held a conference called Africa’s Turn that strove to make sense of the gap between the promise and on-ground realities of Africa’s economic potential. This academic year, we have hosted a series of events on health, human security, economic development and inclusive growth in Africa: Ebola: Mutations, Markets and the Military; Inclusive Growth: Ensuring Prosperity Reaches Africa’s Bottom of the Pyramid; and Entrepreneurship and Business in Emerging Markets: The Obusai, Ghana Gold Mine.

Additionally, The Fletcher School has a strong interest in African affairs, as exemplified through events this year such as Transforming Smallholder Farming in Africa; View From the Ground: International Criminal Law, Transitional Justice and Survivor Advocacy in Rwanda; The Golden Hour: Africa’s Rise and the Challenge of American Diplomacy; and a panel discussion on private sector internships in sub-Saharan Africa. We invite you to join us. The 2nd Fletcher Africana Conference will focus on reconciling the dichotomies that exist in 21st century Africa: technological innovation alongside forces of friction like infrastructural and regulatory gaps; economic growth alongside unemployment and lack of inclusive growth; improvements in health and well-being indicators alongside health crises and increased human insecurity; increased foreign direct investment alongside unclear risk management strategies.

-----------------------------

Destination Europe
Friday, February 20
8am - 7pm
TAJ HOTEL, 15 Arlington Street, Boston
RSVP at http://destinationeurope-boston.teamwork.fr/en/registration <http://destinationeurope-boston.teamwork.fr/en/registration>

'Destination Europe' events showcase the vibrant and exciting research and innovation culture in Europe and the opportunities available to researchers, from anywhere in the world, interested in working in Europe. 

It is a joint initiative of the European Union and its Member States.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Researchers, of any nationality, who are considering their next career move to Europe
International officers and Career Guidance Officers of universities/ research organisations
Anyone interested in learning about the research and innovation landscape and opportunities in Europe 

CONFERENCE OUTLINE
At the Boston event you will find:
Experts from European research organisations, funding agencies and European Commission services who will present programmes, initiatives and excellent institutions
Researchers who have had the experience of moving to Europe temporarily or permanently and who will share their experience with you
Information about the practicalities of moving to Europe (scientific visa, mobility centres etc.)
An exhibition space to provide additional information

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Wyss Lecture: From Bench to Bedside: The Long Walk for Robotic Exoskeletons
Friday, February 20
10:30am to 11:30am
Room 330, 60 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Arun Jayaraman, Ph.D., PT
Successful reintegration into society following a neurological injury such as spinal cord injury (SCI) or stroke is significantly influenced by the ability to be upright and mobile. Currently available lower extremity robotic systems have provided non-independent locomotor training therapy, with varying levels of intensity and repeatability, often improving lower extremity function in a limited population. However, these robots are usually based in rehabilitation hospitals, are large, expensive, and complex. Furthermore, individuals with neurological injuries still require a wheelchair for mobility in the community. Recently, robotic exoskeletons have harnessed a lot of attention on their ability to allow individuals with neurological impairments to be erect, and to walk independently. Several exoskeletons are now commercially available, but these systems have current shown limited clinical efficacy. Furthermore, the models currently on the market are not yet ready for everyday community and/or home mobility use due to the lack of suitable assessment criteria and standardized training protocols, as well as safety concerns. In this talk, we will discuss about the complex relationship of the needs of the patient, the researcher, the manufacturer, the FDA, the insurance companies, the internet, the hospitals, with the Exoskeleton. How do we collect clinical data that is needed to enable product developers to improve hardware and software design to meet the requirements for walking in the home and community in addition to gaining therapeutic benefits?
 
Speaker Bio:  Director, Max Nader Center for Rehabilitation Technologies & Outcomes, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Research Scientist, Center for Bionic Medicine, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Assistant Professor, Departments of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University
Host: Conor Walsh, Ph.D. Core Faculty Member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Contact: Alison Reggio
Email: alison.reggio at wyss.harvard.edu <mailto:alison.reggio at wyss.harvard.edu>

-------------------------------

Collision! Where Art & Science Meet
WHEN  Fri., Feb. 20, 2015, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Science Center, Room 302, 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Art/Design, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Physics Department
SPEAKER(S)  Kim Bernard
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	bernard at physics.harvard.edu <mailto:bernard at physics.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  Kim Bernard, visiting artist-in-residence in the Physics Department, has set up a studio in SciBox 302 for the spring semester. Bernard will be sitting in on physics labs and lectures, using the departments equipment to create new work and is looking forward to collaborating with students, faculty and staff in a cross disciplinary exchange between art and science. Come hear her talk about her interactive kinetic sculpture, jumping out of a plane to experience gravity, welding springs to her shoes, being a human pendulum, and how she finds inspiration in physics!
LINK	www.kimbernard.com <http://www.kimbernard.com/>

-----------------------------

Science in Its Place
WHEN  Fri., Feb. 20, 2015, 12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard,, Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Religion, Science
SPONSOR	Science, Religion, and Culture program
CONTACT	Science, Religion, and Culture program
DETAILS  Please join us for a lunch panel on "Science in Its Place" with Dr. David Livingstone, Dr. Janet Browne, Dr. Andrew Jewett, and Dr. Myrna Perez Sheldon.

----------------------------------

Let’s Talk About Foams
Friday, February 20
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Reynolds Advanced Materials, 45 Electric Avenue, Brighton 
RSVP at boston at reynoldsam.com <mailto:boston at reynoldsam.com>

Our “Let’s Talk About” series is an informal get together of people who want to know more about materials and processes. It won’t take long, there is no commitment and our goal is to educate. You will meet people just like you and we often get contributions from industry pros that add value to the conversation. We welcome any and all comments.
Event Details

Let's Discuss:
The Variety Of Rigid & Flexible Foams Available
Choosing The Right Foam For Your Project
Expansion Rates & Densities
Proper Mixing & Pouring
Common Problems & How To Avoid Them
Material Demos Will Be Ongoing FREE To The Public - Light Refreshment Will Be Served

----------------------------

Data Centers, Energy, and Online Optimization
Friday, February 20
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
BU, TBA
Refreshments served at 2:45.

Adam Wierman, California Institute of Technology
This talk will tell two parallel stories, one about designing sustainable data centers and one about the underlying algorithmic challenges, which fall into the context of online convex optimization.

Story 1: The typical story surrounding data centers and energy is an extremely negative one: Data centers are energy hogs. This message is pervasive in both the popular press and academia, and it certainly rings true. However, the view of data centers as energy hogs is too simplistic. One goal of this talk is to highlight that, yes, data centers use a lot of energy, but data centers can also be a huge benefit in terms of integrating renewable energy into the grid and thus play a crucial role in improving the sustainability of our energy landscape. In particular, I will highlight a powerful alternative view: data centers as demand response opportunities.

Story 2: Typically in online convex optimization it is enough to exhibit an algorithm with low (sub-linear) regret, which implies that the algorithm can match the performance of the best static solution in retrospect.  However, what if one additionally wants to maintain performance that is nearly as good as the dynamic optimal, i.e., a good competitive ratio?  In this talk, I’ll highlight that it is impossible for an online algorithm to simultaneously achieve these goals.  Luckily though, in practical settings (like data centers), noisy predictions about the future are often available, and I will show that, under a general model of prediction noise, even very limited predictions about the future are enough to overcome the impossibility result.

Adam Wierman is a Professor in the Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at the California Institute of Technology, where he is a founding member of the Rigorous Systems Research Group (RSRG) and maintains a popular blog called Rigor + Relevance. His research interests center around resource allocation and scheduling decisions in computer systems and services. He received the 2011 ACM SIGMETRICS Rising Star award, the 2014 IEEE Communications Society William R. Bennett Prize, and has been coauthor on papers that received of best paper awards at ACM SIGMETRICS, IEEE INFOCOM, IFIP Performance (twice), IEEE Green Computing Conference, IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting, and ACM GREENMETRICS.

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Saturday, February 21
-----------------------------

MIT Infinite Labs 2015 Tech Conference
Saturday, February 21
8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (EST)
MIT Media Lab, 75 Amherst Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-infinite-labs-2015-tech-conference-tickets-4896219725 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mit-infinite-labs-2015-tech-conference-tickets-4896219725>
Cost:  $26.88 - $47.78

-------------------------------

Global Urban Datafest: Smart Cities Challenge - Boston
Saturday, February 21
8:30 AM to 7:00 PM (EST)
Harvard Business School- iLab, Batten Hall - 2nd Floor, 125 Western Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-urban-datafest-smart-cities-challenge-boston-registration-15048728151 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/global-urban-datafest-smart-cities-challenge-boston-registration-15048728151>

A month-long series of events leading up to a hackathon on Saturday, February 21st at the Harvard iLab
The Challenge: Join us and work with Massachusetts cities to solve real challenges they face. Help Holyoke develop solutions to improve its pedestrian experience & support Somerville measure the impact of its city services. 
Who Should Participate: Everyone! You don’t need to be a technology expert to participate... We’re looking for business thinkers, policy analysts, journalists, designers, community organizers, urban planners, or anyone else who is interested in solving real urban challenges.

What You'll Do: Form teams to rapidly design and prototype solutions for participating cities. At the end of the day, teams will present their solutions to a panel of city representatives and other experts ready to implement the best ideas. You could create an innovative app, a hardware idea, a new business model, or a policy intervention!

Awards: Two winning teams will go on to compete globally against contestants from 20+ cities around the world participating in the 3rd Annual Global Urban Datafest. Global winners will receive cash prizes, mentorship from industry thought-leaders and support to see their ideas prototyped!

More information at http://global.datafest.net/cities/Boston <http://global.datafest.net/cities/Boston>

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I ♥ Science 
Saturday, February 21
9:00AM - 4:00PM
Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge
Regular museum admission rates apply.

http://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/i-%E2%99%A5-science <http://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/i-%E2%99%A5-science>
Embrace your love of science! Explore fossils of long-extinct animals. Try your hand at sketching a mammal, excavating a mock dinosaur dig, or discovering life in a rotting log. Meet a live scorpion and tarantula. Bring a rock, mineral, or shell to be identified by members of the Boston Mineral Club or the Boston Malacological Club. Talk with scientists and graduate students studying topics ranging from tiny insects to dinosaurs. This event is appropriate for children and adults of all ages.

More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2015-02-21-140000-2015-02-21-210000/i-%E2%99%A5-science#sthash.ShUROyJx.dpuf <http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2015-02-21-140000-2015-02-21-210000/i-%E2%99%A5-science#sthash.ShUROyJx.dpuf>

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Tufts Energy Conference 2015
Saturday, February 21
9:00 AM to 8:00 PM (EST)
Tufts, The Fletcher School, 160 Packard Avenue, Medford
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/tufts-energy-conference-2015-tickets-15346784646 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/tufts-energy-conference-2015-tickets-15346784646>
Cost:  $10.00	

The 10th Annual Tufts Energy Conference will revolve around the theme "Breaking Barriers to a Clean Energy Future." Come hear from panelists, keynotes, and fellow conference attendees about solutions-oriented ways to move us toward a greener future. 
Join us for eight panels, two keynotes, an energy competition and showcase, and a networking reception. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided.  

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Sunday, February 22
---------------------------

Budget for All: Briefing on Federal Budget Crisis
Sunday, February 22
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Encuentro 5, 9a Hamilton Place, Boston

Featuring:
Carolyn Federoff, AFGE Local 3258 and Vice President, Mass. AFL-CIO 
Doug Hall, Executive Director, National Priorities Project
Michael Kane, Executive Director Mass. Alliance of HUD Tenants 

Budget decisions made in Washington this year could have a profound impact our quality of life for years to come.

In the 2012 election, members of dozens of Massachusetts groups placed the Budget for All public policy question on the ballot in state and senate districts across the Commonwealth. Democrat, Republican and Independent voters in all 90 cities and towns where it was on the ballot voted overwhelming to send these budget priorities to Congress and the President: a) Prevent cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, housing and other vital programs; b) create and protect jobs by investing in renewable energy, manufacturing, education and public services; c) Provide Revenues for these purposes by ending tax breaks for large corporations and very high incomes and by redirecting Pentagon spending and bringing all U.S. troops home from Afghanistan now.

So now we have to figure out how to insist that new federal budgets reflect these priorities. Now is the time for social justice, climate, labor and peace folks come together, get up to speed on the developing budget debate and its likely impacts, and work together for budget priorities that reflect our values. See you on the 22nd!

More information at https://www.facebook.com/events/346659052204723/ <https://www.facebook.com/events/346659052204723/>

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Soil Carbon Cowboys: Grazing for Biodiversity
Sunday, February 22
5pm
1 Fayette Park, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Biodiversity-for-a-Livable-Climate/events/219899265/ <http://www.meetup.com/Biodiversity-for-a-Livable-Climate/events/219899265/>

Potluck dinner begins at 5pm, presentation at 6pm. 

Karl Thidemann, director of outreach for Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, will present Peter Byck's video, Soil Carbon Cowboys (12:22), to be followed by a discussion of how ecological restoration leads to the return of a wide variety of biodiversity.  

----------------------------
Monday, February 23
---------------------------

MASS Seminar
Monday, February 23
12:00p–1:00p
MIT, Building 54-915 (the tallest building on campus)

Speaker: Caroline Nowlan
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Atmospheric Science Seminars (MASS)
For more information, contact:  MASS organizing committee
mass at mit.edu <mailto:mass at mit.edu> 

--------------------------------------

How to Open-source the Creative Process: Democratizing Innovation, Product Design and Development, and Technology Strategy
Monday, February 23
12:00p–1:00p
Webinar at http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_022315/how-to-open-source-creative-process.html <http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_022315/how-to-open-source-creative-process.html>

Speaker: Ali Almossawi, Data Visualization Engineer, Mozilla; Author, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments; and SDM Alumnus
In this webinar, SDM alumnus Ali Almossawi will discuss the benefits of expanding the creative process through open-sourcing on the Internet, where there are more creators, fewer industry gatekeepers, and endless opportunities to engage directly with users. He will: 
describe a model for open-sourcing the creative process and how it can be used to build a self-sustaining product or business; 
outline the key players???often a combination of professionals with expertise in technology, business, and/or design; 
discuss what is needed for team members to work together effectively???and the pitfalls to avoid; 
provide examples of failure, success, and failure leading to success; and 
offer next steps that can be adapted and applied across all industries. 

A Q&A will follow the presentation. We invite you to join us.

MIT System Design & Management Systems Thinking Webinar Series 
This series features research conducted by SDM faculty, alumni, students, and industry partners. The series is designed to disseminate information on how to employ systems thinking to address engineering, management, and socio-political components of complex challenges.

Web site: http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_022315/how-to-open-source-creative-process.html <http://sdm.mit.edu/news/news_articles/webinar_022315/how-to-open-source-creative-process.html>
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free and open to all 
Tickets: See url above. 
Sponsor(s): Engineering Systems Division, MIT System Design & Management (SDM)
For more information, contact:  Lois Slavin
lslavin at mit.edu <mailto:lslavin at mit.edu> 

---------------------------------

EPA's Clean Power Plan: What Should States Be Sure Not To Do? 
Monday, February 23
12-1:30
Harvard, Bell Hall (5th Floor Belfer Building), 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Paul Sotkiewicz, Chief Economist, Markets, PJM Interconnection

ETIP/Consortium Energy Policy Seminar

-------------------------------

"The Ascent of Science Fictional Futurity in Anglo-American Legal Thought"
Monday, February 23 
12:15PM - 2:00PM
Harvard, Room 100F, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Michael Bennett, Northeastern Law School
Sandwich lunches are provided. Please RSVP to sts at hks.harvard.edu <mailto:sts at hks.harvard.edu> by Wednesday at 5PM the week before.

STS Circle at Harvard
http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/sts_circle/ <http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/sts_circle/>

Contact Name:   Shana Rabinowich
sts at hks.harvard.edu <mailto:sts at hks.harvard.edu>
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2015-02-23-171500-2015-02-23-190000/sts-circle-harvard#sthash.wvVSRHOJ.dpuf

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Why we have solar panels but not (yet) fusion power
Monday, February 23
2:00p–3:00p
MIT, Building NW17-218, 175 Albany Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Niek Lopes Cardozo, Eindhoven Technical University

PSFC Special Seminar

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Plasma Science and Fusion Center
For more information, contact:  Paul Rivenberg
617 253-8101
rivenberg at psfc.mit.edu <mailto:rivenberg at psfc.mit.edu> 

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The Water, Forest, and Land Belong to Us': Collective Action and Property in an Indian Forest
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 23, 2015, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, CGIS South, S250, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	South Asia Institute
SPEAKER(S)  Anand Vaidya, SAI South Asian Studies fellow
Ajantha Subramanian, professor, Social Anthropology Program, Harvard University
CONTACT INFO	sainit at fas.harvard.edu <mailto:sainit at fas.harvard.edu>
LINK	http://southasiainstitute.harvard.edu/event/south-asia-without-border-seminar-2/ <http://southasiainstitute.harvard.edu/event/south-asia-without-border-seminar-2/>

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Play, Videogames and Education Reform
Monday, February 23
5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building 32-141, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Gonzalo Frasca
No, videogames are not going to change the school system. Unfortunately, the majority of educational games cater to the fears of parents and administrators rather than to the children???s needs. How should we create games that are both useful and effective inside and outside the classroom? 

Gonzalo Frasca is now making math games at okidOkO. A while ago, he sort of invented newsgames, wrote videogame and play theory, made tons of webgames for Hollywood animation studios, got PhD in videogames and even co-created the first official videogame for a US Presidential election. He calls Uruguay home and teaches game development to a bunch of merry kids at ORT University and Liceo Jubilar.

Web site: http://gamelab.mit.edu/event/gonzalo-frasca-play-videogames-and-education-reform/ <http://gamelab.mit.edu/event/gonzalo-frasca-play-videogames-and-education-reform/>
Open to: the general public
Cost: free 
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, MIT Game Lab
For more information, contact:  Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
cmsw at mit.edu <mailto:cmsw at mit.edu> 

----------------------------

Askwith Forum:  Smarter Charters?
WHEN  Mon., Feb. 23, 2015, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Longfellow Hall, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge
TYPE OF EVENT	Discussion, Forum, Lecture, Question & Answer Session
PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT  Alumni, AskWith Forum
BUILDING/ROOM  Askwith Hall
CONTACT NAME  Roger Falcon
CONTACT EMAIL  askwith_forums at gse.harvard.edu <mailto:askwith_forums at gse.harvard.edu>
CONTACT PHONE  617-384-9968
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION/DEPARTMENT	Harvard Graduate School of Education
REGISTRATION REQUIRED  No
ADMISSION FEE	This event is free and open to the public.
RSVP REQUIRED	No
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Education
DETAILS  Participants include:
Richard Kahlenberg, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation; co-author, A Smarter Charter: Finding What Works for Charter Schools and Public Education
Martha Minow, Ed.M.’76, Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Halley Potter, Fellow, The Century Foundation; co-author, A Smarter Charter: Finding What Works for Charter Schools and Public Education

-------------------------------

Community Potluck and Dessert Cafe
Monday, February 23
6 - 8pm
Gallery 344, City Hall Annex, 2nd Floor, 344 Broadway, Cambridge

At this event, you can enjoy delicious entrees and desserts, hear from guest speakers from the Cambridge Historical Society and the CRC, and listen to bluegrass by Best Ever Chicken as well as look at the exhibition "Magazine Beach: A Place Apart."

------------------------------

AB Forum with Moshe Safdie: Design for a small planet
Monday, February 23
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
BSA Space, 290 Congress Street, Boston
RSVP at rsvp at architects.org <mailto:rsvp at architects.org>

From Kuwait City to Singapore, US architecture firms are realizing an increasing share of their commissions from projects abroad. This raises immediate, sometimes delicate questions: What is the responsibility of US architects to sustainability, to the local workforce, to a country’s design aesthetic? What can we learn from the developing world? Join 2015 AIA Gold Medal winner Moshe Safdie FAIA and other Boston-area architects for a wide-ranging discussion. The event will be followed by a reception.
For those who qualify, 2.0 LUs are available.

Moderator
Jay Wickersham FAIA 

Panel
Moshe Safdie FAIA
Peter Kuttner FAIA
Deborah Bentley, RIBA

-------------------------------

The Age of Empathy: Building a Cooperative Society
Monday, February 23
7:30 PM
Blue Shirt Cafe, 424 Highland Avenue, Somerville
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Idealists-and-Rationals-of-Boston/events/220385070/ <http://www.meetup.com/Idealists-and-Rationals-of-Boston/events/220385070/>

For far too long, it has been assumed that the way to be successful is to follow the principles of the survival of the fittest. Social Darwinism, especially in the US has been the rule of thumb in politics and economics.

In his new book 'The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society', primatologist Frans de Waal questions this assumption and shows that our nature is not all about greed and competition and that empathy and cooperation is the social glue that holds human society together.

Many animals survive not by eliminating each other, or by keeping everything for themselves, but by cooperating and sharing. Empathy, both in animals and humans, originates in the care for the young. A female needs to respond to the care of her offspring or they will die. Social Darwinism advocates eliminating the unfit, whereas empathy advocates caring for the less fortunate. Empathy is in itself a neutral capacity which can be applied positively or negatively. (A torturer can be in tune with a victim's pain, which allows him to apply pain effectively). 

When fully developed, empathy can be expanded to include other groups and even species. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly shows that we now (at least officially), include all of humanity in our circle of empathy.

Empathy is something modern societies have lost touch with and it would benefit us to base our institutions on the concept of sharing and cooperating, rather than competing.

This meeting is a natural follow-up on our previous topic, but will focus on the societal aspect of 'empathy' and how it could become the foundation of a new, cooperative society.

Suggested listening:  

Frans de Waal and 'The Age of Empathy'

Suggested reading:

Frans de Waal on Political Apes, Science Communication, and Building a Cooperative Society

The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society 

——————————-
Tuesday, February 24
———————---------

Envisioning Our Energy Future
Tuesday, February 24
10:00 AM to 3:30 PM (EST)
Federal Reserve Plaza, 600 Atlantic Avenue, Connolly Center; Harborside 4th Floor, Boston
RSVP by 2/11 at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/envisioning-our-energy-future-tickets-15275579670 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/envisioning-our-energy-future-tickets-15275579670>
Cost:  $31.59	

Featuring panel discussions on:
Utility of the Future
The advancement of viable, distributed energy technologies in the marketplace is happening quickly. Arguably, technology changes in the market are occurring faster than the regulatory structure governing utilities. The potential to structure a new energy system that embraces decentralized energy technologies is large. Utilities throughout the region are reacting to the changing landscape differently; some utilities are seeking to secure revenue through rate structure changes that could impose barriers to the deployment of new technologies. Others are re-envisioning their future role and the functions the utility will provide. Participants on this panel will be asked to describe their vision of the future and identify key steps to achieving it.
Panelists:
Nathan Adams, Green Mountain Power
Tim Woolf, Synapse Energy Economics, Inc.
Jonathan Schrag, Guarini Center, NYU
 
 Leveling the Playing Field for Distributed Energy Resources
The current system for planning and paying for the energy system favors expenditures on poles and wires over investments that reduce demand for grid-supplied power. The failure to utilize all of the tools in the energy toolbox drives transmission and distribution costs higher than they would be if “non-wires alternatives” (NWAs) could compete on a level playing field. At the same time, successful policies and falling costs are leading to increasing investments in distributed energy resources. This panel will examine recent examples of utilizing NWAs and explore policy reforms that can facilitate competition and reduce transmission and distribution system costs.
Panelists:
Scudder Parker, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation
Fran Cummings, Peregrine Energy Group 
Jim Grevatt, Energy Futures Group
Kerrick Johnson, Vermont Electric Power Company

The Role for Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Resources to Reduce Price Pressures in the Energy System
Flexibility in energy efficiency investment programs offers the potential to achieve specific objectives such as serving low-income customers or geographic targeting to defer infrastructure upgrades. States across the region are beginning to target efficiency programs toward peak demand for natural gas and electricity in winter months, in response to increased electric prices during these periods in recent years. This panel will explore current efforts to utilize efficiency investments to help alleviate this and other issues, and consider challenges to efficiency program design and implementation related to targeted efficiency.
Panelists:
Jeremy Newberger, National Grid
Eric Wilkinson, ISO-NE
Michael Stoddard, Efficiency Maine Trust
Jeff Schlegel, Efficiency Expert

Lunch Speaker: Klaus Vesløv, EcoGrid EU
Developer of a €23M smart grid pilot program on the Danish island of Bornholm, which is the first pilot in the EU to focus on how customer behavior impacts grid modernization efforts. The ECOGRID pilot program is one of the foundations for fullfilling the Bornholm strategy of being 100% fossil free by 2025. For more information: http://www.eu-ecogrid.net/ecogrid-eu/the-bornholm-test-site <http://www.eu-ecogrid.net/ecogrid-eu/the-bornholm-test-site>

Please RSVP by February 11th.

---------------------------

Workshopping Ideas: Presentations from the Digital Problem-Solving Initiative (DPSI) Teams
Tuesday, February 24
12:30 pm
Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2015/02/DPSI#RSVP <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2015/02/DPSI#RSVP>
Event will be webcast live on http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2015/02/DPSI <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2015/02/DPSI> at 12:30 pm.

Introduction from Berkman's Executive Director, Urs Gasser
The Digital Problem-Solving Initiative (DPSI, or "dip-see") at Harvard University, is an innovative and collaborative project, hosted through the Berkman Center. DPSI brings together a diverse group of learners (students, faculty, fellows, and staff) to work on projects to address challenges and opportunities across the university. DPSI offers participants a novel opportunity to engage with research, design, and policy relating to the digital world. Student teams will be presenting their work (see link below) and seeking feedback from the Berkman community. 

About Urs Gasser
Urs Gasser is the Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and a Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School. He is a visiting professor at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) and at KEIO University (Japan), and he teaches at Fudan University School of Management (China). Urs Gasser serves as a trustee on the board of the NEXA Center for Internet & Society at the University of Torino and on the board of the Research Center for Information Law at the University of St. Gallen, and is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society in Berlin. He is a Fellow at the Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research.

---------------------------------

The Rails Race: Japan and China in Global Infrastructure Politics
WHEN  Tue., Feb. 24, 2015, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Bowie-Vernon Room (K262), 2nd Floor, CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Program on U.S.-Japan Relations
SPEAKER(S)  A. Maria Toyoda, associate professor and associate dean for Interdisciplinary Studies and Global Initiatives, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Villanova University
moderated by Susan Pharr, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics and director, Program on U.S.-Japan Relations, Harvard University
COST  Free and open to the public
LINK	http://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/calendar/upcoming <http://programs.wcfia.harvard.edu/us-japan/calendar/upcoming>

--------------------------------

"It's Better To Jump" film screening and Q&A with filmmaker, Patrick Stewart
WHEN  Tue., Feb. 24, 2015, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, CGIS, Knafel Building, Room S020, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Film, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	The CMES Working Group on Film and Visual Arts in a Changing Middle East
SPEAKER(S)  Patrick Alexander Stewart, co-director/co-producer
CONTACT INFO	Liz Flanagan, elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu <mailto:elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  The ancient city of Akka, along the northern coast of Israel, is the home to a melting pot of Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Baha’i. For centuries, its surrounding forty-foot sea wall has protected its citizens and repelled invaders. As the Old City endures harsh economic pressures and vast social changes, Palestinian families who have lived here for generations are being pressured to leave. Despite the daily challenges they face, the city’s youth – sons and daughters of fishermen, school teachers, and artists – continue a perilous inter-generational rite of passage expressing individuality and the right to control their destiny: jumping from the high wall into the tempestuous sea below.
"It's Better To Jump" captures the spirit of Akka’s Arab residents and the leap of faith they make towards self-determination and a better future. Watch the film trailer here: ibtj.net <http://ibtj.net/>….
Following the film, there will be a Q&A with the filmmaker, Patrick A. Stewart.
This event is open to the public; no registration required. This event is off the record. The use of recording devices is strictly prohibited.
LINK	http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/3803 <http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/3803>

--------------------------------

Brazil Beyond the Future
WHEN  Tue., Feb. 24, 2015, 5 – 7 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Boylston 403, Harvard Yard, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture
SPEAKER(S)  Lauri Tӓhtinen, History and Literature, Harvard University
COST  Free and open to the public
DETAILS  Sponsored by the Robert C Smith Fund, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
LINK	http://rll.fas.harvard.edu/event/portuguese-seminar-lauri-tӓhtinen-history-and-literature-harvard-university <http://rll.fas.harvard.edu/event/portuguese-seminar-lauri-t%D3%93htinen-history-and-literature-harvard-university>

--------------------------------

Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War
Tuesday, February 24
6:00p–7:30p
MIT Museum, Building N51, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Meet Ron Fierstein, author of "A Triumph of Genius", the newest biography of Polaroid founder, Edwin Land. Book signing to follow talk.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/museum/visit/calendar.html <http://web.mit.edu/museum/visit/calendar.html>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): MIT Museum
For more information, contact:  Brindha Muniappan
617-253-5927
museuminfo at mit.edu <mailto:museuminfo at mit.edu> 

------------------------------

Boston Green Drinks - February Happy Hour
Tuesday, February 24
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EST)
Scholars, 25 School Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-green-drinks-febrary-happy-hour-tickets-15502989860 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-green-drinks-febrary-happy-hour-tickets-15502989860>

Darned blizzard!  We will miss you in January but let's make Green Drinks double the sustainable fun in February!
Join the conversation with sustainability professionals and hobbyists.  Enjoy a drink and build your connection with our green community!
Keep sending feedback to Lyn at bostongreendrinks.com <mailto:Lyn at bostongreendrinks.com> for ideas about speakers or content for the future and mark your calendar for drinks on the last Tuesday of every month.  Also, if you RSVP and can't make it, e-mail us to let us know.

Boston Green Drinks  builds a community of sustainably-minded Bostonians, provides a forum for exchange of sustainability career resources, and serves as a central point of information about emerging green issues.  We support the exchange of ideas and resources about sustainable energy, environment, food, health, education.

--------------------------------

How "Plankton Blooms" Absorb CO2
Tuesday, February 24
6:30 PM
Belmont Media Center, 9 Lexington Street, Belmont

Amala Mahadevan, PhD, Senior Scientist, Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Dr. Mahadevan is a 2014-2015 Radcliffe Fellow.
Plankton are microscopic organisms that represent the base of the ocean food chain. More important for us, plankton function as a biological pump, removing about one-third of the atmospheric CO2. The planet's health depends on regular plankton "blooms," in which enormous aggregations of plankton spread for miles over the world's oceans. The NASA satellite image here is a fragment of a plankton bloom off the New Zealand coast. Scientists are trying to understand the complex physical, chemical and biological mechanisms that trigger the plankton blooms. Dr. Mahadevan is a leader in this research and recently discovered a critical trigger. She explains how plankton absorb so much CO2 and the unexpected triggers that cause the sudden aggregations. 

Contemporary Science Issues and Innovations

WHOI article about Dr. Mahadevan's work Scientists Discover New Trigger for North Atlantic Plankton Bloom at
http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7545&tid=3622&cid=143653 <http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7545&tid=3622&cid=143653>

-------------------------------

In Manchuria:  A Village Called Wasteland and the Transformation of Rural China
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Michael Meyer, author

---------------------------------

Evolution Matters Lecture Series: The Revolution in Plant Evolution
Tuesday, February 24
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM (EST)
Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/evolution-matters-lecture-series-the-revolution-in-plant-evolution-tickets-15354441548 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/evolution-matters-lecture-series-the-revolution-in-plant-evolution-tickets-15354441548>

Today’s digital technologies enable museums to “unlock” their cabinets and share their treasures online. Pamela Soltis, Distinguished Professor and Curator, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida,
will discuss how access to digital data and images of natural history collections is becoming a game changer in the understanding of plant evolution. From enabling novel research on plant genetics, to highlighting the roles plants play in nature and how they respond to climate change, museum collections are a key resource, particularly when studying plants that are rare, hard to collect, endangered, or extinct. 

-----------------------------

Intel® Edison™ Workshop
Tuesday, February 24
7:00 PM to 10:30 PM (EST)
Coalition Space, 101 Arch Street, Suite 1950, Boston
RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intel-edisontm-workshop-tickets-15504689945 <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intel-edisontm-workshop-tickets-15504689945>

Makers and Tinkerers of Boston, get ready to hack!
The Intel® IoT Roadshow is continuing its 2015 global series by making a stop in Boston and we want to make sure each one of you are set-up with the resources you need to come out on top!
Two weeks before all the hacking, on February 24th at Coalition Space, come get a jump start by familiarizing yourself with the Intel® IoT Developer Kit (Beta). 
Intel® IoT experts will be on-site to show you how to set-up the Edison board. Get your hands on all the files you need. Get inspired by previous winning projects and network with other hackathon attendees to lock down the best team. 
Schedule:
7:00pm - Doors open, enjoy pizza and drinks
7:30pm - Kickoff
7:35pm - Intel® Edison™ Overview - How to set-up board?
8:15pm - Idea Pitch Mentorship and Team Formation
8:30pm - Network + Remote control car races!
9:00pm - Winners for small challenges announced + Wrap-up

The Intel® IoT Roadshow Hackathon
The Intel® IoT Hackathon will take place on March 14th-15th - location TBD. The first 100 registered attendees at the hackathon will get their hands on a free Intel® Edison™ Dev Kit! There will be a workshop that will help you set-up your boards and then the hacking begins. But, attending the Meetup will give you even more time to brew up the best IoT project! Take a look at the series and winning projects from Austin, Mountain View and New York.  
The technology
The Intel® Edison development board brings hardware projects unparalleled performance in a small, low power form factor ideal for IoT and connected devices. It is the first in a series of low-cost, product-ready, general purpose compute platforms that help lower the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs of all sizes - from pro makers to consumer electronics and companies working in the Internet of Things (IoT). The Intel Edison development platform packs a robust set of features into its small size, delivering great performance, durability, and a broad spectrum of I/O and software support. Check out some of the projects on Instructables! 

*****************
----------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------
*****************

--------------------------------
Wednesday, February 25
--------------------------------

Understanding Western Peacebuilding in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: A Critical Approach
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 25, 2015, 12:30 – 2 p.m.
WHERE  Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Room 102, 38 Kirkland Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	The CMES Middle East Forum, Roger Owen & Sara Roy, co-chairs
SPEAKER(S)  Dr. Mandy Turner, director, Kenyon Institute/Council for British Research in the Levant, East Jerusalem, and visiting research fellow, Middle Eats Centre, London School of Economics
CONTACT INFO	Liz Flanagan, elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu <mailto:elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  Light lunch will be served.
This event is open to the public; no registration required. This event is off the record. The use of recording devices is strictly prohibited.
LINK  http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/3831 <http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/3831>

-----------------------------------

Identifying Ideology: Experimental Evidence on Anti-Americanism in Pakistan
Wednesday, February 25
2:30p–4:00p
MIT, Building E51-376, 70 Memorial Drive, Cambridge

Speaker: Leo Bursztyn (UCLA)

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Development Economics Seminar
For more information, contact:  economics calendar
econ-cal at mit.edu <mailto:econ-cal at mit.edu> 

---------------------------------

Precise Engineering of Semiconducting Polymers for Organic Electronics
Wednesday, February 25
3:30p–4:45p
MIT, Building 56-114, 21 Ames Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Prof. Christine Luscombe, Dept. of Chemistry, University of Washingtons
MIT Program in Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM) 
PPSM sponsors a series of seminars covering a broad range of topics of general interest to the polymer community, featuring speakers from both on and off campus. We invite the polymer community at MIT and elsewhere to participate. For further information, contact Professor Jeremiah Johnson at jaj2109 at mit.edu <mailto:jaj2109 at mit.edu>. All talks take place on Wednesdays.

SEMINAR 3:30 PM - REFRESHMENTS 3:00 PM

Web site: http://polymerscience.mit.edu/?page_id=2425 <http://polymerscience.mit.edu/?page_id=2425>
Open to: the general public
Cost: FREE 
Sponsor(s): MIT Program in Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM)
For more information, contact:  Gregory Sands
(617) 253-0949
ppsm-www at mit.edu <mailto:ppsm-www at mit.edu> 

-------------------------------

Leaving Prison and Entering Poverty
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 25, 2015, 4 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S)  Bruce Western, 2014-15 Evelyn Green Davis Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute
COST  Free and open to the public
LINK	http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-bruce-western-fellow-presentation <http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-bruce-western-fellow-presentation>

-----------------------------

"Microbial diversity and the carbon cycle: insights from soil fungal communities"
Wednesday, February 25
4:00p–5:00p
MIT, Building 48-316, Parsons

Speaker: Jennifer Talbot, Boston University

Microbial Systems Seminar

Web site: microbialsystems.wordpress.com <http://microbialsystems.wordpress.com/>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering
For more information, contact:  Kathryn Kauffman
k6logc at mit.edu <mailto:k6logc at mit.edu> 

--------------------------

Environment and Human Capital: The Effects of Early-Life Exposure to Pollutants in the Philippines
WHEN  Wed., Feb. 25, 2015, 4:10 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Kennedy School, Littauer-382, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Environmental Sciences, Lecture, Social Sciences, Sustainability
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Seminar in Environmental Economics and Policy, Harvard Environmental Economics Program
SPEAKER(S)  Evan Peet, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
LINK	http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k105744 <http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k105744>

----------------------------

Bioinspired Materials
Wednesday, February 25
6:30pm - 7:30pm
Honeycomb, Le Laboratoire Cambridge, 650 East Kendall Street, Cambridge

Joanna Aizenberg, Ph.D.
Platform Leader and Core Faculty member, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University
Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Sciences, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Director, Science Program, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Co-Director, Kavli Institute for Bionano Science & Technology

-------------------------

The Future of the Past: A History Ignored -- Honoring the 100 Year Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide Through Art and Dialogue
Wednesday, February 25
6:30 PM to 8:15 PM (EST)
Washburn Auditorium, Brattle Campus, Lesley University, 10 Phillips Place, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-future-of-the-past-a-history-ignored-honoring-the-100-year-anniversary-of-the-armenian-genocide-tickets-15642096933 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-future-of-the-past-a-history-ignored-honoring-the-100-year-anniversary-of-the-armenian-genocide-tickets-15642096933>
 
How can we process the horrors of genocide, especially when the hurt of these atrocities is compounded by a century of denial?
 
Between the eve of World War I and 1922, 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children were killed at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in what has been coined the first genocide of the 20th century. Those who were not rounded up to be killed at once were sent on death marches through mountains and deserts without food, drink or shelter. But still today, the Turkish government rejects the conclusions of historians, saying there was no premeditation in the deaths, no systematic attempt to destroy a people. Indeed, in Turkey today it remains a crime to use the term genocide.

The power of images from the art community has historically moved our society.  Now is the time to openly accept Armenian history, including the Genocide, and honor the numerous contributions of the Armenian civilization.
Join artists Hope Ricciardi, John Avakian, Marsha Odabashian, and Adrienne DerMarderosian as they share their personal narratives and how they make meaning of the resulting intergenerational transmission of trauma through their art.

Presented by Violence Transformed and Lesley University's Expressive Therapies and Interdisciplinary Studies Programs.

Event is Free and Open to the Public!! Walk-ins welcome!
Any questions? Please contact Beth Chambers at echambe5 at lesley.edu <mailto:echambe5 at lesley.edu>

———————————
Thursday, February 26
———————————

Exploring the Human Connectome of Multiple Sclerosis
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 26, 2015, 7:45 – 9:15 a.m.
WHERE  Harvard Faculty Club, Room 10, 2nd floor, 20 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Health Sciences, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Technology Assessment in Health Care Seminar Series
SPEAKER(S)  Eric Klawiter, assistant professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
CONTACT INFO	Debra Milamed
debra_milamed at hms.harvard.edu <mailto:debra_milamed at hms.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  Continental breakfast served.

---------------------------------------

Preparing Buildings for Rising Seas and Severe Weather Events
Thursday February 26,
8:30 AM to 10:30 AM EST 
Atlantic Wharf, 290 Congress Street, Fort Point Room, Boston
RSVP at https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eadc14h371675a81&oseq=&c=&ch= <https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eadc14h371675a81&oseq=&c=&ch=>

Climate projections for Boston indicate that the City will experience rising temperatures, increased storm intensity and higher sea-levels.  Boston's built infrastructure is at risk from these climate stressors, but there are technologies currently available to help asset owners increase the adaptability of both existing and new buildings.
 
Join A Better City at the release of their new report: Enhancing Resilience in Boston: A Guide for Large Buildings and Institutions; and its compendium online resiliency toolkit.  The report and its associated online toolkit provide building owners with information on 33 available resilience actions and technologies.  It also provides a preliminary assessment of potential regulatory touch points within the City and state for resilience actions and considers initial ideas for district-level resilience strategies for the Boston area.
 
Come and learn about: strategies for reducing risks to facilities located inside or outside the floodplain and current technologies used for flooding / sea level rise, storm water management, and urban heat island; and understand the costs and policy implications associated with the resiliency technologies.
 
Agenda:
8:00-8:30         Breakfast & Networking 
8:30-9:00         Key Notes & Special Address
Rob de Vos, Consul General, Dutch Consolate
Rick Dimino, President & CEO, ABC
9:00 - 10:00     Report Presentation & Panel Discussion
Panel themes and questions to be addressed:  
How to make the decision to install resilience technology at your building.
How does resiliency work into building economics?
What is the role of tenants?
How do we look to improve/streamline our local regulatory policies to facilitate resiliency investments within the private sector?
What are the lessons Boston learned from Superstorm Sandy?
10:00 - 10:30    Viewing of Boston Properties' Aqua Fence
Register Now!

Contact Name:  tdinkel at abettercity.org <mailto:tdinkel at abettercity.org>
617-502-6257

More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2015-02-26-133000-2015-02-26-153000/preparing-buildings-rising-seas-and-severe-weather-events#sthash.kkg4NlSr.dpuf <http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2015-02-26-133000-2015-02-26-153000/preparing-buildings-rising-seas-and-severe-weather-events#sthash.kkg4NlSr.dpuf>

--------------------------------------

The BRICS Group in Global Regulation: Leadership, Influence, and Prospects
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 26, 2015, 11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Bell Hall, 5th Floor Belfer Building, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Business, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	The Regulatory Policy Program (RPP) at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government (M-RCBG) at HKS.
SPEAKER(S)  Mihaela Papa, lecturer, Fletcher School
DETAILS  Lunch will be served. Please RSVP to mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu <mailto:mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu>

---------------------------------------

Officer of the World Economic Forum USA to Speak at Volpe
Thursday, February 26
12:00pm to 1:00pm
Volpe, The National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Cambridge

John B. Moavenzadeh, Senior Director of Mobility Industries and Officer of the World Economic Forum USA
John Moavenzadeh is senior director, Mobility Industries, and an officer of the World Economic Forum USA. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.

As an officer of the World Economic Forum USA, the Forum’s U.S.-based affiliate, Moavenzadeh shares leadership for the 100 Forum staff based in New York. Moavenzadeh’s responsibilities include engaging CEOs and business leaders from the automotive, logistics & supply chain, aviation, travel & tourism industries in projects and processes to advance strategic global issues. He has contributed to reports and initiatives on topics ranging from trade facilitation to connected and smart transportation to supply chain resilience.

-------------------------------

PETA President Ingrid Newkirk at Harvard Law School
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 26, 2015, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room B015, 1585 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Ethics, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Harvard Law School Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (orgs.law.harvard.edu <http://orgs.law.harvard.edu/>…)
SPEAKER(S)  Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	saldf.hls at gmail.com <mailto:saldf.hls at gmail.com>
DETAILS  Animal Rights, Human Obligations: An Open Forum with PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. All viewpoints encouraged. Riveting Q&A to follow.
LINK	https://www.facebook.com/events/404248646401789/ <https://www.facebook.com/events/404248646401789/>

---------------------------

Flooding risk and the modernization of agriculture
Thursday, February 26
12:00-1:00pm 
Tufts, Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford

Kyle Emerick, Department of Economics, Tufts University
Approximately 30% of the cultivated rice area in India is prone to crop damage from prolonged flooding. Dr. Emerick will discuss a two-year study in rural Odisha India investigating the effects of introducing a new flood-tolerant rice variety on farm investment. He will discuss the effects on both farm productivity and farmer decision-making.

Kyle Emerick received his PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from UC Berkeley in 2014. His research is in development economics — with a particular focus on the economics of agricultural development. His work has included studies on the effects of risk-reducing technologies on the decisions of poor farmers in rural India, the efficiency of informal seed exchanges between Indian farmers, and the effects of more secure property rights on labor reallocation in Mexico. His studies rely on both field experiments and observational data.

---------------------------

Upstart Roundtable Venture Café
Thursday, February 26
4:00pm – 6:00pm
Venture Cafe, One Broadway, Cambridge
RSVP at http://thecapitalnetwork.cloverpad.org/event-1810234

TCN UpStart Roundtables are monthly gatherings at the Venture Cafe that bring together Boston-area early-stage startups and seasoned entrepreneurs. This free series with The Capital Network, Venture Cafe, and Silicon Valley Bank is a great opportunity for you to ask burning questions about starting a company and meet other like-minded entrepreneurs in a casual cafe setting.

Pre-registration is not required to attend the TCN UpStart Roundtable series, but we do appreciate knowing in advance how many people to expect.

---------------------------

Do Muslim Women Need Saving?: Reflections on the Politics of Feminism in the Middle East
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 26, 2015, 4 – 6 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, CGIS, Knafel 262, 1737 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR  The WCFIA/CMES Middle East Seminar, Herbert Kelman, Lenore G. Martin, Sara Roy, co-chairs
SPEAKER(S)  Lila Abu-Lughod, Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science; director, Middle East Institute, Columbia University
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	Liz Flanagan, elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu <mailto:elizabethflanagan at fas.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  This event is open to the public; no registration required. This event is off the record. The use of recording devices is strictly prohibited.
LINK	http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/3821 <http://cmes.hmdc.harvard.edu/node/3821>

---------------------------

Creativity: It’s Not Just About the Front End of Innovation 
Thursday, February 26
5:30pm - 9:30pm
Microsoft New England R&D Center (NERD Center), 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.pdma.org/p/cm/ld/fid=63 <http://www.pdma.org/p/cm/ld/fid=63>
Cost:  $10 -$20

Creativity, the production of novel ideas that serve a purpose, is the starting point for innovation and an essential input for growth in our companies and in our economy at large. But creativity also has application well beyond the front end of innovation and can be deliberately invoked to assist with challenges and opportunities presented at all stages of new product development.

Learn how creativity operates, how to apply it to challenges, how to elicit it within your team and what’s required from your organization to support it. Join the Greater Boston PDMA on Thursday, February 26th to hear a presentation by Courtney Zwart, who will address these questions and more and will provide you with tangible actions that you can take to both apply and harness creativity in your organization. Register now for this event and network with other product development, product management and innovation professionals in the Boston area.

Speaker:
Courtney Zwart, Consultant – Innovation & Creative Problem Solving

Event Date: 
Thursday, February 26th, 2015

Timing:
5:30 – 6:30 PM: Networking (food and soft beverages provided)
6:30 – 7:30 PM: Courtney Zwart
7:30 – 8:15 PM: Q&A
8:15 – 9:30 PM: Post-Event Networking

Post-Event Networking Location:
Za Restaurant 
350 Third Street, Cambridge


-----------------------------

Boston Meetup + Pitch-Off
Thursday, February 26
6:00 PM to 10:00 PM (EST)
Estate Club, One Bolyston Street, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-meetup-pitch-off-tickets-14985607355 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/boston-meetup-pitch-off-tickets-14985607355>
Cost:  $10.00

TechCrunch's legendary meetup + pitch-off event is coming to Boston! Join us for beer, good conversation, and a battle to the death to see which entrepreneurs can dazzle and excite the judges in under sixty seconds.

Pitch-Off Competition
Participants interested in competing in the pitch-off will have 60 seconds to explain why their startup is awesome. These products must currently be in stealth or private beta. The application will open soon.
Office Hours
Office Hours are for companies selected to compete in the Pitch-Off. These 15 minute one-on-one talks will be held the day of the event. We’ll hear about your company, give feedback and reommend the best pitch strategy for the 60-second rapid-fire competition. Think of us as Adam Levine on The Voice.
Pitch-Off Winners
Pitches will be rated by 3-5 judges, including TechCrunch writers and local VCs. First Place will receive a table in Startup Alley at an upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt. Second Place will receive (2) tickets to an upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt. Third Place will receive (1) ticket to the upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt.
VENUE:  Estate - One Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02116
This is a 21+ only event.
AGENDA:
6:00 Doors Open
7:00 Pitch-Off Competition
8:15 Winners Announced
8:20 Networking

----------------------------

Is Shame Necessary?  New Uses for an Old Tool
Thursday, February 26
7:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Jennifer Jacquet, author

----------------------------

Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits—and Won
Thursday February 26
7:00 pm
Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Coolidge Corner, Brookline

Marc Solomon
Ten years ago no state allowed same-sex couples to marry, support for gay marriage nationwide hovered around 30 percent. Today, same-sex couples can marry in seventeen states, polls consistently show majority support, and nearly three-quarters of Americans believe legalization is inevitable. In Winning Marriage Marc Solomon, a veteran leader in the movement for marriage equality, gives the reader a seat at the strategy-setting and decision-making table in the campaign to win and protect the freedom to marry. With depth and grace he reveals the inner workings of the advocacy movement that has championed and protected advances won in legislative, court, and electoral battles over the decade since the landmark Massachusetts ruling guaranteeing marriage for same-sex couples for the first time.

More information at http://www.brooklinebooksmith-shop.com/event/mark-solomon-winning-marriage-inside-story-how-same-sex-couples-took-politicians-and-pundits-a <http://www.brooklinebooksmith-shop.com/event/mark-solomon-winning-marriage-inside-story-how-same-sex-couples-took-politicians-and-pundits-a>

---------------------------------

Mass Extinctions: A Brief History of Life’s Worst Moments
WHEN  Thu., Feb. 26, 2015, 7 – 8:15 p.m.
WHERE  Arnold Arboretum, Hunnewell Building, 125 Arborway, Boston, MA
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
SPEAKER(S)  Phoebe Cohen, assistant professor of geosciences, Williams College
COST  $10 (students: email to register for free)
TICKET WEB LINK  https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=1409&DayPlannerDate=2/26/2015 <https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=1409&DayPlannerDate=2/26/2015>
CONTACT INFO	adulted at arnarb.harvard.edu <mailto:adulted at arnarb.harvard.edu>
617.384.5277
DETAILS  Life on Earth has experienced at least five major events we call “mass extinctions,” during which a huge number of species have gone extinct in a short period of time. In this talk, paleontologist Phoebe Cohen will explore how scientists decide which extinctions get to be considered “mass,” the ways in which these events have reshaped life as we know it, and how a deep understanding of past extinctions can help us see the future.
LINK	arboretum.harvard.edu <http://arboretum.harvard.edu/>

-------------------------
Friday, February 27
-------------------------

MIT 2015 Energy Conference
Global Energy Shifts: Disruption and Convergence
February 27-28, 2015
Cost:   $53.74 - $401.35 

More information at http://mitenergyconference.org

-----------------------------

Rhetoric in Authoritarian Legislatures: Automated Content Analysis of Egyptian Parliamentary Speech
WHEN  Fri., Feb. 27, 2015, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Belfer Library, Littauer Building, Room 369, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	The Middle East Initiative
SPEAKER(S)  Muhammed Y. Idris, MEI research fellow and Ph.D. candidate in Political Science, Pennsylvania State University
COST  Free and open to the public
DETAILS  Part of the Middle East Initiative Research Fellow Seminar Series.
LINK	http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6564/rhetoric_in_authoritarian_legislatures.html <http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/6564/rhetoric_in_authoritarian_legislatures.html>

----------------------------

Lunch and Learn: Idea to Invention
Friday, February 27
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM (EST)
Workbar Boston, 711 Atlantic Avenue, Boston
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/lunch-and-learn-idea-to-invention-tickets-15008222999?aff=es2&rank=1018 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/lunch-and-learn-idea-to-invention-tickets-15008222999?aff=es2&rank=1018>
Cost:  $11.54

Idea to Invention
You don't have to be a mechanical genius to be an inventor. Anyone can invent - it's simply finding clever solutions to everyday challenges. Author and inventor Patricia Nolan-Brown, inventor of the original, best selling rear-facing car seat mirror, has turned common annoyances into ingenious and money-making products. She will teach you how to master the invention process and achieve success in a timely and cost-effective way. Don't have an idea yet? No worries - she will teach you how to come up with one! Check out the instructor's website at www.patricianolanbrown.com <http://www.patricianolanbrown.com/>. 
Key takeaways:
This session covers:
How to successfully run any business
Essential success traits 
What you need to know to cash in on your inspiration
Social media platform building

About the Instructor:
As a successful inventor, Patricia offers her advice to aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs -- based on 24 years of experience. Patricia has broken down the invention process into 6 Simple Steps. She offers a do-it-yourself method which saves inventors a ton of time and money.
 
The Workbar Lunch and Learn classroom series is designed to connect and educate professionals from every industry and on a variety of topics.  The Workbar Lunch and Learn classroom is open to members and non-members alike.  To ensure the right vibe and to deliver value to the sponsors and supporters who make our community possible, we do not allow soliciting of any kind.  We appreciate your help, please see our event guidelines for more information regarding participation in our events.

Space is limited.  Lunch is included.

-------------------------------

Creating Economic Growth: Lessons for Europe
WHEN  Fri., Feb. 27, 2015, 12 – 1:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, R-G-20 Neustadt Classroom, Rubenstein Building, HKS
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Business, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government, HKS
SPEAKER(S)  Marco Magnani, author and former M-RCBG senior fellow
Philippe Aghion, Harvard University
Richard Cooper, Harvard University
Hans-Helmut Kotz, former member of the Board of the Bundesbank and visiting professor at Harvard University
CONTACT INFO	Please RSVP to mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu <mailto:mrcbg at hks.harvard.edu>. Lunch will be served.

--------------------------------

Harvard Food+ Research Symposium
Friday, February 27
12:30–4:30 pm
Harvard CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17xpktLWDCdmijI-fZIR4fPT5dtcqQm2Uc8QkfN_hwW8/viewform?usp=send_form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17xpktLWDCdmijI-fZIR4fPT5dtcqQm2Uc8QkfN_hwW8/viewform?usp=send_form>

The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs is pleased to announce the first Harvard Research Symposium on the Nexus of Food, Agriculture, Environment, Health, and Society (or as we call it, the Food+ Symposium). The Symposium will feature 20 Harvard faculty members from 8 schools and a dozen departments giving 7 minute "speed presentations" on their current Food+ research. A reception will follow at the Weatherhead Center. 

The goal of the Food+ Research Symposium is to provide attendees with a sense of the excitement and breadth of the Food+ research underway at Harvard and foster cross-fertilization among researchers. 

Faculty, staff, students, and members of the wider Boston community should RSVP at 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17xpktLWDCdmijI-fZIR4fPT5dtcqQm2Uc8QkfN_hwW8/viewform?usp=send_form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/17xpktLWDCdmijI-fZIR4fPT5dtcqQm2Uc8QkfN_hwW8/viewform?usp=send_form>

Confirmed faculty presenters include: 
Michele Holbrook, Professor of Biology and Forestry in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Elsie Sunderland, Associate Professor in Environmental Science and Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Ann Forsyth, Professor of Urban Planning at the Harvard raduate School of Design
Michael Kremer, Professor of Developing Societies in the Department of Economics at the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
J. Gunnar Trumbull, Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School
David Ludwig, Professor of Pediatrics at the Harvard Medical School and Professor of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health
Samuel Myers, Instructor in Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Senior Research Scientist at the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health
Walter Willett, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health
Robert Paarlberg, Adjunct Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School
William Clark, Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development at the Harvard Kennedy School
Daniel Schrag, Professor of Geology in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment
Peter Huybers, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Emily Broad Leib, Lecturer on Law and Clinical Instruction at the Harvard Law School and Director of the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic
Jacob Gersen, Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School and Director of the Harvard Food Law Lab
PK Newby, Lecturer at the Harvard Extension School and author of the blog The Nutrition Doctor is in the Kitchen

More at: http://green.harvard.edu/events/harvard-food-research-symposium#sthash.0sQWA8MG.dpuf <http://green.harvard.edu/events/harvard-food-research-symposium#sthash.0sQWA8MG.dpuf>

-------------------------------

Reality Check: Russia, Ukraine, and the West in Crisis and Conflict
Friday, February 27
2:00p–4:00p
MIT, Building E40-496, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Matthew Rojansky, Director of the Kennan Institute
The death toll from the war in Ukraine's southeast is in the thousands, the government in Kyiv is on the edge of bankruptcy, and mutual hostility between Russia and the West has not been so intense for more than a quarter century. The intensity of this ongoing crisis threatens not only to upend the precarious security balance in the post-Soviet space and beyond, but to reinforce a serious challenge to the very political and economic system that Ukrainians embraced when they turned out support the so-called Euro-Maidan by the hundreds of thousands last Fall and Winter. With poor prospects for a comprehensive diplomatic settlement, and political pressure for escalation from all sides, what can be done to contain the damage? Is crisis and confrontation the new normal for Europe and Eurasia, and if so will these problems come home to roost in the West? 

Matthew Rojansky is Director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.. An expert on U.S. relations with the states of the former Soviet Union, especially Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, he has advised governments, intergovernmental organizations, and major private actors on conflict resolution and efforts to enhance shared security throughout the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian region.

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, Security Studies Program, MISTI MIT-Russia Program
For more information, contact:  Ema Kaminskaya
617-2542793
ekaminsk at mit.edu <mailto:ekaminsk at mit.edu> 

-------------------------------

Soldier, God, and the State: Religion in the Armies of India and Pakistan
Friday, February 27
2:00p–4:00p
MIT, Building E40-464, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Professor Amit Ahuja, UCSB
A session of the South Asia Politics Seminar Series cosponsored by MIT, Harvard and Brown.

Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, Harvard University, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs; Brown University, Watson Institute
For more information, contact:  Laurie Scheffler
617 253-3121
lauries at mit.edu <mailto:lauries at mit.edu>

Editorial Comment:  I wonder if anyone will mention the world's first non-violent army, the Khudai Khitmadgar, the Servants of God, the Red Shirts which were Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh who gathered together to institute Gandhi's Constructive Programme and protect people during religious riots.  They were formed and led by Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Badshah Khan, the Khan of Khans from around 1930 until 1948.  
More at http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/06/27/534378/-Islamic-Satyagraha-Army

-------------------------------

Censors at Work:  How States Shaped Literature
Friday, February 27
3:00 PM
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Robert Darnton, author

--------------------------------

Launch of the Digital Archive of Massachusetts Anti-Slavery and Anti-Segregation Petitions
WHEN  Fri., Feb. 27, 2015, 4 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Tsai Auditorium, S010, CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Ethics, Information Technology, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	This event is cosponsored by the Center for American Political Studies, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, and the Massachusetts Archives.
COST  Free and open to the public
LINK	http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-ma-anti-slavery-anti-segregation-petitions-digital-archive-launch <http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-ma-anti-slavery-anti-segregation-petitions-digital-archive-launch>

--------------------------------

Askwith Forum: How Do You Define American?
WHEN  Fri., Feb. 27, 2015, 5 – 7 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Longfellow Hall, 13 Appian Way, Cambridge
TYPE OF EVENT	Discussion, Forum, Lecture, Question & Answer Session
PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT  Alumni, AskWith Forum
BUILDING/ROOM  Askwith Hall
CONTACT NAME  Roger Falcon
CONTACT EMAIL  askwith_forums at gse.harvard.edu <mailto:askwith_forums at gse.harvard.edu>
CONTACT PHONE  617-384-9968
SPONSORING ORGANIZATION/DEPARTMENT	Harvard Graduate School of Education
REGISTRATION REQUIRED  No
ADMISSION FEE	This event is free and open to the public.
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Education
DETAILS  Speaker: Jose Antonio Vargas, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, filmmaker, and the founder of Define American
This forum is held in conjunction with Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC). Jose Antonio Vargas is a 2015 AOCC Keynote Speaker.
The 2015 AOCC conference theme, “The Other Narrative: Celebrating Untold Stories,” will provide participants the opportunity to challenge dominant narratives that position the racial, ethnic, and cultural identities belonging to communities of color as inferior. By highlighting untold stories and counter-narratives, AOCC will engage participants in exploring different voices that celebrate just alternatives that include and go beyond academic discipline and pedagogy.

-----------------------------
Saturday, February 28
----------------------------

Collapse: video by Lydia Eccles 
Saturday, February 28 
7PM
Brickbottom Gallery, 1 Fitchburg Street, Somerville

COLLAPSE INTERVIEWS: A Gathering of People With Nothing In Common (2 hours) with intermission, refreshments and discussion. (free)

More information at http://www.brickbottom.org <http://www.brickbottom.org/>

The water is rising. Keep calm and create.

----------------------
Monday, March 2
----------------------

A BioFabrication Success Story: From Mushrooms to Packing/Building Materials
WHEN  Mon., Mar. 2, 2015, 10 – 11:45 a.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Room 521, Wyss Institute, 3 Blackfan Circle, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Pat Sapinsley, visiting scholar, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, president, Building Efficiently, LLC
SPEAKER(S)  Eban Bayer, CEO and co-founder, Ecovative Design
COST  Free and open to the public
DETAILS  Started in 2007 by two engineering students, Ecovative Design is a company founded around a biologically grown substitute for plastic foam. Ecovative Design has become a commercially viable company with strategic relationships with 3M, Dell, Steelcase and Sealed Air (manufacturers of Bubblewrap). Eban Bayer, CEO and co-founder, will share knowledge and lessons learned about the path to commercialization. Topics covered will range from the decision to move from building insulation to packaging, funding process, scale-up issues of bio-fabrication, intellectual property and licensing issues. Bayer will start the conversation with a short presentation, to be followed by a discussion with attendees.
LINK	http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewevent/447 <http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewevent/447>

---------------------------

New York's "Reforming the Energy Vision" Initiative
Monday, March 2
12-1:30
Harvard, Bell Hall (5th Floor Belfer Building), 79 JFK Street, Cambridge

Audrey Zibelman, Chair, New York State Public Service Commission

ETIP/Consortium Energy Policy Seminar

-----------------------

"Experts in Cruelty: Interrogation in Abu Ghraib and After"
Monday, March 2
12:15PM - 2:00PM
Harvard, Room 100F, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge

Steve Caton, Harvard, Anthropology
Sandwich lunches are provided. Please RSVP to sts at hks.harvard.edu <mailto:sts at hks.harvard.edu> by Wednesday at 5PM the week before.

STS Circle at Harvard
http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/sts_circle/ <http://sts.hks.harvard.edu/events/sts_circle/>

Contact Name:  Shana Rabinowich
sts at hks.harvard.edu <mailto:sts at hks.harvard.edu>
More at: http://environment.harvard.edu/events/2015-03-02-171500-2015-03-02-190000/sts-circle-harvard#sthash.jgKMoBwx.dpuf

------------------------------

Open Meetings: Digital Futures Consortium
WHEN  Mon., Mar. 2, 2015, 3 – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Lamont Library Forum Room, 11 Quincy Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Information Technology
LIBRARY LOCATION  Lamont Library
DETAILS  Regular general meetings for the Digital Futures Consortium at Harvard University in the coming academic year will be held on the first Mondays in October, March and June. These are general meetings separate from any event planning or project working groups. They are open to anyone with interest in digital scholarship, its evolving tools, and tapping into potential working relationships.
Digital Futures is an informal network of faculty, researchers, technologists, and librarians engaged in the ongoing transformation of scholarship through innovative technology. We are dedicated to sharing expertise across the global academic community, facilitating new forms and methods of research, and fostering collaborative projects that bring about field-changing developments in scholarship.

-----------------------------

Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms
Monday, March 2
4:00p–5:30p
MIT, Building E62-650, 100 Main Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Lauren Cohen and Scott Kominers (Harvard)

Web site: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2464303 <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2464303>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Microeconomic Applications
For more information, contact:  economics calendar
econ-cal at mit.edu <mailto:econ-cal at mit.edu> 

------------------------------

Global Demographic Projections: Future Trajectories and Associated Uncertainty
WHEN  Mon., Mar. 2, 2015, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, 9 Bow Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Lecture, Research study, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	HCPDS
SPEAKER(S)  John Wilmoth, director of the population division, United Nations; professor, Department of Demography, University of California at Berkeley
CONTACT INFO	ksmall at hsph.harvard.edu <mailto:ksmall at hsph.harvard.edu>
LINK	http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population-development/events/pop-center-seminars/ <http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/population-development/events/pop-center-seminars/>

------------------------------

Micromégas. The Very Small, the Very Large, and the Objects of Digital Humanities
WHEN  Mon., Mar. 2, 2015, 5 – 6:30 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Tsai Auditorium, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Humanities, Information Technology, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Department of English
SPEAKER(S)  Franco Moretti
The Danily C. and Laura Louise Bell Professor in the Humanities
Stanford University
COST  Free and open to the public.
LINK	english.fas.harvard.edu <http://english.fas.harvard.edu/>

-------------------------------

Power to the Pedals: Wenzday Jane and the Culture of Change
WHEN  Mon., Mar. 2, 2015, 6 – 8 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall, Room 2012, 1585 Mass Avenue, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Business, Environmental Sciences, Film, Law
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic & Transactional Law Clinics, of Harvard Law School
DIRECTED BY  Bob Nesson
COST  Free and open to the public
DETAILS  Power to the Pedals: Wenzday Jane and the Culture of Change, a film by Bob Nesson, portrays the transformative vision and extraordinary efforts of a woman whose mechanical skills and innovative actions are reshaping her community. Wenzday Jane heads a movement to replace trucks with human powered vehicles for local cargo transportation. She goes to the heart of the sustainability issue by offering practical solutions.

--------------------------------

The Oldest Living Things in the World
WHEN  Mon., Mar. 2, 2015, 7 – 8:15 p.m.
WHERE  Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Art/Design, Humanities, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
SPEAKER(S)  Rachel Sussman, photographer
COST  Free, but registration required
TICKET WEB LINK  http://arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/directors-lecture-series/ <http://arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/directors-lecture-series/>
CONTACT INFO	617.384.5277 or adulted at arnarb.harvard.edu <mailto:adulted at arnarb.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  Since 2004 Rachel Sussman has been researching, working with biologists, and traveling the world to photograph continuously living organisms 2,000 years old and older. Her work spans disciplines, continents, and millennia: it is part art and part science, has an innate environmentalism, and is underscored by an existential incursion into Deep Time. Her original index of millennia-old organisms has never before been created in the arts or sciences. Enjoy her awe-inspiring photographs and hear what it means to bear witness to organisms that perhaps predate human history and that may survive well into future generations. Her book, The Oldest Living Things in the World, will be available for purchase and signing.
LINK	arboretum.harvard.edu <http://arboretum.harvard.edu/>

-----------------------
Tuesday, March 3
-----------------------

BuildingEnergy 15 
March 3 – 5, 2015
Seaport World Trade Center, Boston.  

This is the biggest regional green building conference in the New England; sponsored by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA).  To see the program and register ata http://nesea.org/conference/buildingenergy-15 <http://nesea.org/conference/buildingenergy-15>

Editorial Comment:  Your editor will be part of a panel on urban agriculture.

----------------------------

Boston TechBreakfast Presented by Colliers: March 2015
Tuesday, March 3
8:00 AM
Microsoft NERD - Horace Mann Room, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge
RSVP at http://www.meetup.com/Boston-TechBreakfast/events/215003132/ <http://www.meetup.com/Boston-TechBreakfast/events/215003132/>

Interact with your peers in a monthly morning breakfast meetup. At this monthly breakfast get-together techies, developers, designers, and entrepreneurs share learn from their peers through show and tell / show-case style presentations. 
And yes, this is free! Thank our sponsors when you see them :)

Agenda for Boston TechBreakfast: 
8:00 - 8:15 - Get yer Bagels & Coffee and chit-chat 
8:15 - 8:20 - Introductions, Sponsors, Announcements 
8:20 - ~9:30 - Showcases and Shout-Outs! 

~9:30 - end - Final "Shout Outs" & Last Words

--------------------------

R. Buckminster Fuller's "Pattern Thinking," with Daniel Lopez-Perez and Hanif Kara
WHEN  Tue., Mar. 3, 2015, 12 – 1 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Stubbin's Room, 48 Quincy Street, Gund Hall, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Art/Design, Lecture
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Harvard University Graduate School of Design
SPEAKER(S)  Daniel Lopez-Perez and Hanif Kara
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	events at gsd.harvard.edu <mailto:events at gsd.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  In celebration of R. Buckminster Fuller’s 120th anniversary (1895-2015), “Pattern Thinking” explores the relationship between artifacts and inventions in his work, and their legacy in contemporary practice. Daniel López-Pérez will present historical and contemporary documentation that traces Fuller’s trajectory of exploration spanning four decades, while Hanif Hanif will speak about their analysis (local and global, stick and surface, linear non-linear) and reflect upon Fuller’s legacy in contemporary projects and current design trends.
LINK	www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events/innovate-daniel-lopez-perez-and-hanif-kara-on-buckminster-fuller.html <http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/events/innovate-daniel-lopez-perez-and-hanif-kara-on-buckminster-fuller.html>

---------------------------------

Lawyering for Social Justice in the Age of Digital Media
Tuesday, March 3
12:30 pm
Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 23 Everett Street, Second Floor, Cambridge
RSVP required for those attending in person at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2015/03/Cohen#RSVP
Event will be webcast live on http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/events/luncheon/2015/03/Cohen at 12:30 pm.

Harvard Law School Lecturer on Law, Rebecca Richman Cohen
sTwenty years ago, effective legal advocacy required some fluency with press releases and mainstream media -- but today's digital media tools require a different sort of training.  These tools enable lawyers to bring the voices of their clients directly to policymakers and mass audiences; to create new and richer ways to present evidence and expert reports; to expose government and corporate corruption; to crowdsource the documentation of law violations; to gather and authenticate visual evidence on mobile phones; to enhance public understanding of the law, to give legal information to unrepresented litigants en masse; and so much more.  How do we teach today’s young advocates to integrate rich, multi-platform media campaigns into their legal work?

About Rebecca
Rebecca Richman Cohen has been a Lecturer on Law art Harvard Law School since 2011.  She is an Emmy Award nominated documentary filmmaker with experience in international human rights, criminal defense, and drug policy reform. Rebecca was profiled in Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces in Independent Film as an "up-and-comer poised to shape the next generation of independent film." She has taught classes at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), American University's Human Rights Institute, and most recently at Columbia University. Rebecca graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies and with a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. She was a 2012-2013 Soros Justice Fellow.

--------------------------------

Offshore Nuclear Reactors
Tuesday, March 3
4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
MIT, Building  E19-623, Knight Conference Room, 400 Main Street, Cambridge

Jacopo Buongiorno, Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering/MIT

Jacopo Buongiorno (Nuc Eng PhD, MIT, 2000; Nuc Eng BS, Polytechnic of Milan, 1996) is Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in thermo-fluids engineering and nuclear reactor engineering. His areas of technical expertise and research interest are reactor design, nanofluid technology, fluid dynamics, and two-phase flow and heat transfer in advanced nuclear systems. For his work in these areas and his teaching at MIT Prof. Buongiorno won several awards, including, recently, the MacVicar Faculty Award (MIT, 2014), and Landis Young Member Engineering Achievement Award (American Nuclear Society, 2011). Professor Buongiorno is a member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); Co-Director of the Reactor Technology Course for Nuclear Utility Executives, which is offered jointly by MIT and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO); and a consultant for the nuclear industry (AREVA, DCNS, B&W, Westinghouse, and South Texas Project) in the area of reactor thermal hydraulics. He served on the ANS Special Committee on Fukushima, and currently is on the accrediting board of INPO’s National Academy of Nuclear Training (NANT). From 2000 to 2004 he worked as a research scientist at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), where he led the DOE’s Generation-IV program for the development of the supercritical water cooled reactor in the United States.

------------------------------

The Pioneer's Progress: From Revolution to Constitutional Government in Tunisia?
Tuesday, March 3
4:30p–6:00p
MIT, Building E51-376, 2 Amherst Street, Cambridge

Speaker: Hugh Roberts
Dr. Hugh Roberts is the Edward Keller Professor of North African and Middle Eastern History at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA and a specialist on North African history and politics. He took up his post at Tufts in January 2012. 

Between 1976 and 1997 Roberts lectured in the School of Development Studies at the University of East Anglia, the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley and the Department of History at the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London. From 1997 to 2002 he was a Senior Research Fellow of the Development Studies Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

Roberts has also worked outside academia, as an independent scholar and consultant on North African affairs and as Director of the International Crisis Group's North Africa Project, based in Cairo, from 2002 to 2007 and again from February to July 2011. His book, The Battlefield: Algeria 1988-2002. Studies in a broken polity, was published by Verso in 2003. His newest books, Berber Government: the Kabyle polity in pre-colonial Algeria, and Algerie-Kabylie: Etudes et interventions de Hugh Roberts (in French) were published in 2014.

Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar 
The Emile Bustani Middle East Seminar is organized under the auspices of the MIT Center for International Studies, which conducts research on contemporary international issues and provides an opportunity for faculty and students to share perspectives and exchange views. Each year the Bustani Seminar invites scholars, journalists, consultants and other experts from the Middle East, Europe and the United States to MIT to present recent research findings on contemporary politics, society and culture, and economic and technological development in the Middle East.

Web site: http://web.mit.edu/cis/bustani/ <http://web.mit.edu/cis/bustani/>
Open to: the general public
Cost: Free 
Sponsor(s): Center for International Studies, MIT Technology and Culture Forum
For more information, contact:  Heidi Erickson
253-1888
hae at mit.edu <mailto:hae at mit.edu> 

------------------------------

The World Is Not the Screen: How Computers Shape Our Sense of Place
WHEN  Tue., Mar. 3, 2015, 5 p.m.
WHERE  Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Sheerr Room, Fay House, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Information Technology, Lecture, Science
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S)  Nicholas Carr, writer
COST  Free and open to the public
CONTACT INFO	events at radcliffe.harvard.edu <mailto:events at radcliffe.harvard.edu>
LINK	http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-nicholas-carr-lecture <http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-nicholas-carr-lecture>

------------------------------

TechHub Boston Demo Night - March 2015
Tuesday, March 3
6:30 PM to 9:30 PM (EST)
 Brooklyn Boulders Somerville, 12A Tyler Street, Somerville
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/techhub-boston-demo-night-march-2015-tickets-15727778208?aff=es2&rank=663 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/techhub-boston-demo-night-march-2015-tickets-15727778208?aff=es2&rank=663>

Demo Night is a chance to see what the top startups are working on, these are the people that are changing the future of business & tech! Join TechHub Tuesday night at Brooklyn Boulders Somerville to experience great demos from the exciting tech entrepreneur community.  

Each startup has 5 minutes to demo their product in front of a live audience, it's not a pitch but an opportunity for each startup to explain (and show) what they have been working on. After each demo there is live Q&A with the audience.

Afterwards, stick around for beer and wine, network, play ping pong or experience Brooklyn Boulders amazing selection of climbing walls for 1st timers to experts. We will have free gear (shoes, harness, chalk bags) & climbing facilitators ready.  So arrive in your gym clothes or change at the onsite locker rooms and be set for an amazing evening on and off the walls.

--------------------------

“The Advent of the Anthropocene: Was that the Big Story of the 20th Century”
Tuesday, March 3
7:00 pm
BU, Photonics Center, 8 St. Mary’s Street, Boston

Speaker: John McNeill

More information to follow.

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Thursday, March 5
------------------------

The African Elephant Poaching Crisis
Thursday, March 5
12:00-1:00pm  
Tufts, Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room, 10 Upper Campus Road, Medford

Nicole St. Clair Knobloch, Writer
Ms. St. Clair Knobloch will discuss the poaching crisis facing African elephants – the direct causes and the indirect circumstances that worsen it -- and the potential solutions. She has been particularly focused on the fate of the now critically endangered African forest elephant, on U.S. foreign policy goals in the region the forest elephants inhabit, and on how those goals are disrupted by the ivory trade.

Nicole St. Clair Knobloch worked on climate policy, communications, and strategy for Ceres, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University. She is now writing full-time, pursuing interests in looking at how change is made and at how environmental challenges affect global stability. She also currently works as a speechwriter for Shirley Ann Jackson, president, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

-----------------------------

Labyrinth of Things: Lecture by Diana Taylor
WHEN  Thu., Mar. 5, 2015, 4:15 p.m.
WHERE  Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Dance, Lecture, Theater
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
SPEAKER(S)  Diana Taylor, University Professor, Performance Studies and Spanish, and Founding Director, Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, New York University
Introduction by Martin Puchner, Byron and Anita Wien Professor of Drama and of English and Comparative Literature and Chair of the Committee on Dramatics, Harvard University
COST  Free
CONTACT INFO	events at radcliffe.harvard.edu <mailto:events at radcliffe.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  Diana Taylor, a scholar of Latin American and U.S. theater and performance, will speak about the power of a specific play, Bom Retiro 958 metros, which leads us on a walk through São Paulo’s phantasmagoric world of things. The piece conveys broad societal meanings about the accumulation and transformation of things.
LINK	http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-diana-taylor-lecture <http://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/event/2015-diana-taylor-lecture>

----------------------------

"Media and Memory at the Videotheque de Paris"
Thursday, March 5
Time: 5:00p–7:00p
MIT, Building 4-231, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge

Catherine E. Clark
The Videotheque de Paris, a moving image archive of the French capital, opened in 1988, during a period when French technological advances led the world in revolutionizing the circulation of people and information. The Videotheque would be no mere dusty archive but rather a high-tech institution of robots, computers, VCRs, and Minitels. Its organizers deployed the latest technologies to place a century of fiction films, documentaries, television programs, and advertising with Paris as their subject or setting at visitors' disposal. Organizers promised that within a year or two the whole archive would be available in Parisian living rooms, as its collections became the basis of a Parisian on-demand cable channel. 

Contemporaries imagined that these technologies would transform users' relationship to the past, to turn institutionalized history into memory, a flexible, customizable, and ultimately personal, experience of the past. The dream of an archive that replaced all others by providing constant access to cultural and social memory through technology did not last more than a decade. But the utopian rhetoric that accompanied the Videotheque's creation illuminates and calls into question the utopian promises of the more recent revolution in digital history. 

MIT assistant professor Catherine E. Clark is a cultural historian who specializes in 19th- and 20th-century France and visual culture. 

Join our mailing list for an event reminder: http://cmsw.mit.edu/signup <http://cmsw.mit.edu/signup>

Web site: http://cmsw.mit.edu/event/catherine-clark-media-memory-videotheque-de-paris/ <http://cmsw.mit.edu/event/catherine-clark-media-memory-videotheque-de-paris/>
Open to: the general public
Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
For more information, contact:  Andrew Whitacre
617-324-0490
cmsw at mit.edu <mailto:cmsw at mit.edu> 

--------------------------------

 MIT Water Night
Thursday, March 5
5:00 - 8:00 PM
MIT Building W20, Stratton Student Center

-------------------------------

EnergyBar!
Thursday, March 5
5:30pm-8:30pm
Greentown Labs, 28 Dane Street, Somerville
RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/energybar-tickets-15734093096 <http://www.eventbrite.com/e/energybar-tickets-15734093096>

EnergyBar is a monthly event devoted to helping people in clean technology meet and discuss innovations in energy technology. Entrepreneurs, investors, students, and ‘friends of cleantech,’ are invited to attend, meet colleagues, and expand our growing regional clean technology community. 

Our attendees typically span a variety of disciplines within energy, efficiency, and renewables. If you're looking for a job in cleantech or energy, trying to expand your network, or perhaps thinking about starting your own energy-related company this is the event for you. Expect to have conversations about issues facing advanced and renewable energy technologies and ways to solve our most pressing energy problems. 

Light appetizers and drinks will be served starting at 5:30 pm. Suggested dress is shop floor casual.

Grab your tickets now, seats are filling up! 

---------------------------------

(Un)Familiar Deaths: Politics of Death and Dying in the Contemporary World
WHEN  Thu., Mar. 5, 2015, 6 – 8 p.m.
WHERE  Harvard, Memorial Church, Harvard Yard
GAZETTE CLASSIFICATION	Ethics, Humanities, Lecture, Social Sciences
ORGANIZATION/SPONSOR	Science, Religion, and Culture Program at Harvard Divinity School
SPEAKER(S)  Professor James Cone
Professor Mark Jordan
COST  Free and open to the public
TICKET WEB LINK  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unfamiliar-deaths-politics-of-death-and-dying-in-the-contemporary-world-tickets-15639132065 <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unfamiliar-deaths-politics-of-death-and-dying-in-the-contemporary-world-tickets-15639132065>
CONTACT INFO	617.496.9221 / srcp at hds.harvard.edu <mailto:srcp at hds.harvard.edu>
DETAILS  Science, Religion, and Culture at Harvard Divinity School is excited to present (Un)familiar Deaths, a two-part lecture with James Cone and Mark Jordan. Together, Cone and Jordan will chart the unsettling and central ways in which race, sexuality, death, and politics coincide in modern America. Cone, one of the founders of black liberation theology, has revolutionized how we think of religion and race, and continues to shed new light on the problems and possibilities of religion and social justice. Jordan writes on the boundary of sexuality and religion: his work on sexual ethics, marriage, and homosexuality has pioneered new ways of talking about religion and faith. In the wake of Ferguson and nation-wide police brutality, and as the Supreme Court prepares to weigh in on same-sex marriage, it's clear that race and sexuality are topics that demand attention, that intersect repeatedly with religion, and that remind us of the often fatal nature of American politics.
LINK	http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/srcp/event/march-5-unfamiliar-deaths-politics-death-and-dying-contemporary-world <http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/srcp/event/march-5-unfamiliar-deaths-politics-death-and-dying-contemporary-world>

----------------------------

Sustainability Collaborative
Thursday, March 5
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Venture Cafe, Cambridge Innovation Center, 1 Broadway, 5th floor,  Cambridge

The Venture Café Foundation has partnered with EcoMotion to bring the Sustainability Collaborative to monthly Venture Café gatherings. Stay tuned for more information about this month’s Sustainability Collaborative. 

Questions? Contact Sierra at sflanigan at ecomotion.us <mailto:sflanigan at ecomotion.us>

************
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Opportunity
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************

The Boston Network for International Development (BNID) maintains a website (BNID.org <http://bnid.org/>) that serves as a clearing-house for information on organizations, events, and jobs related to international development in the Boston area. BNID has played an important auxiliary role in fostering international development activities in the Boston area, as witnessed by the expanding content of the site and a significant growth in the number of users. 

The website contains:

A calendar of Boston area events and volunteer opportunities related to International Development
- http://www.bnid.org/events <http://www.bnid.org/events> 
A jobs board that includes both internships and full time positions related to International Development that is updated daily - http://www.bnid.org/jobs <http://www.bnid.org/jobs>
A directory and descriptions of more than 250 Boston-area organizations - http://www.bnid.org/organizations <http://www.bnid.org/organizations>

Also, please sign up for our weekly newsletter (we promise only one email per week) to get the most up-to-date information on new job and internship opportunities -www.bnid.org/sign-up <http://www.bnid.org/sign-up> 

The website is completely free for students and our goal is to help connect students who are interested in international development with many of the worthwhile organizations in the area.

Please feel free to email our organization at info at bnid.org <mailto:info at bnid.org> if you have any questions!

———————————

Intern with Biodiversity for a Livable Climate!
Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (BLC) is a nonprofit based in the Cambridge, MA area. Our mission is to mobilize the biosphere to restore ecosystems and reverse global warming.
Education, public information campaigns, organizing, scientific investigation, collaboration with like-minded organizations, research and policy development are all elements of our strategy.

Background: Soils are the largest terrestrial carbon sink on the planet. Restoring the complex ecology of soils is the only way to safely and quickly remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the ground, where it’s desperately needed to regenerate the health of billions of acres of degraded lands. Restoring carbon to soils and regenerating ecosystems are how we can restore a healthy hydrologic cycle and cool local and planetary climates safely, naturally, and in time to ensure a livable climate now and in the future.

Our Work: immediate plans include
Organizing the First International Biodiversity, Soil Carbon and Climate Week, October 31-November 9, 2014, and a kick-off conference in the Boston area, “Mobilizing the Biosphere to Reverse Global Warming: A Biodiversity, Water, Soil Carbon and Climate Conference – and Call to Action” to expand the mainstream climate conversation to include the power of biology, and to help initiate intensive worldwide efforts to return atmospheric carbon to the soils.
Coordination of a global fund to directly assist local farmers and herders in learning and applying carbon farming approaches that not only benefit the climate, but improve the health and productivity of the land and the people who depend on it.
Collaboration with individuals and organizations on addressing eco-restoration and the regeneration of water and carbon cycles; such projects may include application of practices such as Holistic Management for restoration of billions of acres of degraded grasslands, reforestation of exploited forest areas, and restoring ocean food chains.

Please contact Helen D. Silver, helen.silver at bio4climate.org <mailto:helen.silver at bio4climate.org> for further information.
781-316-1710
Bio4climate.org <http://bio4climate.org/>
SharedHarvestCSA.com <http://sharedharvestcsa.com/>

—————————————

Climate Stories Project
http://www.climatestoriesproject.org

What's your Climate Story?
Climate Stories Project is a forum that gives a voice to the emotional and personal impacts that climate change is having on our lives. Often, we only discuss climate change from the impersonal perspective of science or the contentious realm of politics. Today, more and more of us are feeling the effects of climate change on an personal level. Climate Stories Project allows people from around the world to share their stories and to engage with climate change in a personal, direct way.

———————————

Where is the best yogurt on the planet made? Somerville, of course!

Join the Somerville Yogurt Making Cooperative and get a weekly quart of the most thick, creamy, rich and tart yogurt in the world. Membership in the coop costs $2.50 per quart. Members share the responsibility for making yogurt in our kitchen located just outside of Davis Sq. in FirstChurch.  No previous yogurt making experience is necessary.

For more information checkout.
https://sites.google.com/site/somervilleyogurtcoop/home

---------------------

Cambridge Residents: Free Home Thermal Images

Have you ever wanted to learn where your home is leaking heat by having an energy auditor come to your home with a thermal camera?  With that info you then know where to fix your home so it's more comfortable and less expensive to heat.  However, at $200 or so, the cost of such a thermal scan is a big chunk of change.

HEET Cambridge has now partnered with Sagewell, Inc. to offer Cambridge residents free thermal scans.

Sagewell collects the thermal images by driving through Cambridge in a hybrid vehicle equipped with thermal cameras.  They will scan every building in Cambridge (as long as it's not blocked by trees or buildings or on a private way).  Building owners can view thermal images of their property and an analysis online. The information is password protected so that only the building owner can see the results.

Homeowners, condo-owners and landlords can access the thermal images and an accompanying analysis free of charge. Commercial building owners and owners of more than one building will be able to view their images and analysis for a small fee.

The scans will be analyzed in the order they are requested.

Go to Sagewell.com.  Type in your address at the bottom where it says "Find your home or building" and press return.  Then click on "Here" to request the report.

That's it.  When the scans are done in a few weeks, your building will be one of the first to be analyzed. The accompanying report will help you understand why your living room has always been cold and what to do about it.

With knowledge, comes power (or in this case saved power and money, not to mention comfort).

---------------------

Free solar electricity analysis for MA residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHhwM202dDYxdUZJVGFscnY1VGZ3aXc6MQ

-----------------------

HEET has partnered with NSTAR and Mass Save participating contractor Next Step Living to deliver no-cost Home Energy Assessments to Cambridge residents.

During the assessment, the energy specialist will:

Install efficient light bulbs (saving up to 7% of your electricity bill)
Install programmable thermostats (saving up to 10% of your heating bill)
Install water efficiency devices (saving up to 10% of your water bill)
Check the combustion safety of your heating and hot water equipment
Evaluate your home’s energy use to create an energy-efficiency roadmap
If you get electricity from NSTAR, National Grid or Western Mass Electric, you already pay for these assessments through a surcharge on your energy bills. You might as well use the service.

Please sign up at http://nextsteplivinginc.com/heet/?outreach=HEET or call Next Step Living at 866-867-8729.  A Next Step Living Representative will call to schedule your assessment.

HEET will help answer any questions and ensure you get all the services and rebates possible.

(The information collected will only be used to help you get a Home Energy Assessment.  We won’t keep the data or sell it.)

(If you have any questions or problems, please feel free to call HEET’s Jason Taylor at 617 441 0614.)

*********
-----------
Resource
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Sustainable Business Network Local Green Guide

SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!

To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org
To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha at sbnboston.org

--------------------------------------------------

Free Monthly Energy Analysis

CarbonSalon is a free service that every month can automatically track your energy use and compare it to your past energy use (while controlling for how cold the weather is). You get a short friendly email that lets you know how you’re doing in your work to save energy.

https://www.carbonsalon.com/

---------------------------------------

Boston Food System

"The Boston Food System [listserv] provides a forum to post announcements of events, employment opportunities, internships, programs, lectures, and other activities as well as related articles or other publications of a non-commercial nature covering the area's food system - food, nutrition, farming, education, etc. - that take place or focus on or around Greater Boston (broadly delineated)."

The Boston area is one of the most active nationwide in terms of food system activities - projects, services, and events connected to food, farming, nutrition - and often connected to education, public health, environment, arts, social services and other arenas.   Hundreds of organizations and enterprises cover our area, but what is going on week-to-week is not always well publicized.
Hence, the new Boston Food System listserv, as the place to let everyone know about these activities.  Specifically:
Use of the BFS list will begin soon, once we get a decent base of subscribers.  Clarification of what is appropriate to announce and other posting guidelines will be provided as well.

It's easy to subscribe right now at https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subscribe/bfs

----------------------

Artisan Asylum  http://artisansasylum.com/

Sprout & Co:  Community Driven Investigations  http://thesprouts.org/

Greater Boston Solidarity Economy Mapping Project  http://www.transformationcentral.org/solidarity/mapping/mapping.html
a project by Wellesley College students that invites participation, contact jmatthaei at wellesley.edu

------------------------

Bostonsmart.com's Guide to Boston  http://www.bostonsmarts.com/BostonGuide/

********************************************
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Links to events at 60 colleges and universities at Hubevents   http://hubevents.blogspot.com

Thanks to

Fred Hapgood's Selected Lectures on Science and Engineering in the Boston Area:  http://www.BostonScienceLectures.com

MIT Events:  http://events.mit.edu

MIT Energy Club:  http://mitenergyclub.org/calendar

Harvard Events:  http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/harvard-events/events-calendar/

Harvard Environment:  http://www.environment.harvard.edu/events/calendar/

Sustainability at Harvard:  http://green.harvard.edu/events

Mass Climate Action:  http://www.massclimateaction.net/calendar/events/index.php

Meetup:  http://www.meetup.com/

Eventbrite:  http://www.eventbrite.com/

Microsoft NERD Center:  http://microsoftcambridge.com/Events/

Startup and Entrepreneurial Events:   http://www.greenhornconnect.com/events/

Cambridge Civic Journal:  http://www.rwinters.com

Cambridge Happenings:  http://cambridgehappenings.org

Boston Area Computer User Groups:  http://www.bugc.org/

Arts and Cultural Events List:  http://aacel.blogspot.com/

Boston Events Insider:  http://bostoneventsinsider.com/boston_events/

Nerdnite:  http://boston.nerdnite.com/


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